Corset-rebellion-follower's Super Amazing Halloween Spectacular
By corset-rebellion-follower
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda
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Chapter 11- Are You Afraid of the Dark?
"Red and black streamers?"
"Check."
"Balloons?"
"Check."
"Popcorn balls?"
"Uhh…"
Corset pinched the bridge of her nose. "Po, please tell me you didn't eat all the popcorn balls."
Po grinned sheepishly, revealing several bits of popcorn stuck between his teeth. "No… just a few… yes."
"Ugh! How am I supposed to have a Halloween party if you eat all my food?" she asked angrily. Corset was gathering her materials for her Halloween bash, and Po was trying to help. Emphasis on trying.
"Why don't we work on something non-food related? That way you won't get angry and I won't get hungry," he proposed.
Corset nodded. "That sounds fair."
"So where are you going to put all these people? I mean, the Jade Palace is big, but I'm pretty sure that Tigress is soundproofing the training hall as we speak and is planning to lock herself in there during the party," he said. She shook her head.
"Would it kill her to have a little fun in her life?" Corset's eyes lit up in that certain way that they did. She had an idea. A brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. "Po, go and get Tigress and everybody else and meet me in the Hall of Warriors." And as quick as a bolt of lightning, she was off.
Po shrugged and went to gather everyone.
"What do you think she wants us for? She's been so busy with her party lately, I've barely seen her at all," Viper said.
"Maybe she wants us to drink some witches' brew or something," Crane joked. The doors to the Hall of Warriors opened with a creak. The gap was just large enough for corset to get through. She had a long, red velvet cloak on over her clothing.
"Enter, mortals, if you dare."
And she disappeared back through the doors. They all exchanged glances and shrugged before pushing the doors open wider.
Immediately corset shrieked, "CLOSE THE DOOR!"
"We have to get in first, corset," Tigress said.
"Whatever. Just don't keep it open for very long. You'll ruin the ambiance." After all six of them were inside, Po closed the doors. It was clearer why corset didn't want the doors open.
The columns were sending off their normal greenish glow. But it only added to the overall spookiness that was now being radiated towards them. Thick black blankets had been thrown over any light sources and blocked them out. Red paper lanterns that were leftover from last New Year's were strung between pillars. And somehow corset had managed to bring a huge fire ring and logs in, where a fire currently crackled and popped. What little light there was made silhouettes of all the ancient kung fu artifacts on the walls.
"Welcome to my lair. I hope you left any fear at the door. If you haven't… well, let's just say you'll wish you had," corset said, lowering her voice for effect.
"Does Master Shifu know about all of this?" Tigress asked, glancing around the room.
"Tigress, my dear, I can't drag a fire pit in here by myself," she answered.
"Master Shifu helped you drag a fire pit into the Hall of Warriors?" Mantis asked.
A low, grating voice replied, "She had some help from the forces of darkness." Everyone jumped and turned to the voice. Chen Hu grinned back at all of them like the Cheshire Cat. "Good day. Did I scare you?"
Tigress scowled. "It probably would have been more effective if any of us believed in the forces of darkness," she said bitterly.
Chen Hu's look softened when his eyes caught hers. "Well forgive me, Master Tigress. I suppose I'll just have to work harder next time." The rest of the Five snickered and corset rolled her eyes as Tigress blushed and smiled at him.
"Yo, forces of darkness! Do you mind putting your eyes back in your head so that we can get on with this?" corset asked impatiently. Chen Hu smiled once more at Tigress and winked before sitting down in between the two females.
"Thank you for making me sick. Anyway, you're probably all wondering why I've summoned you," she said, her voice deepening again.
"Isn't that obvious?" Tigress asked.
"Silence, please, silence. It was a rhetorical question."
"So tell us, oh swami of all things Halloween, why did you call us here?" Viper asked, mimicking corset's tone.
"This is where I'm going to tell scary stories for my party. Pretty cool, huh?" she asked.
"You did all of this so that you could tell scary stories? Isn't that a bit… stupid?" Tigress asked.
"Come on, Tigress, get in the spirit! You have to admit, it shows dedication," Monkey said.
"And no one knows the forces of darkness better than this nutcase," Chen Hu said, pointing to corset.
She just shrugged. "I try."
"Chen Hu, you actually believe in these 'forces of darkness'?" Tigress asked.
"A little. It's a fun idea. And who knows, maybe they are out there, causing all sorts of misfortune in the world."
He made a face at her, pulling down the bottom rims of his eyes and sticking his tongue out. She just scowled and looked away as everyone else snickered. He whispered something in her ear and she smiled at him again.
"All gross mushy moments aside, may I continue?" corset asked impatiently.
The doors to the Hall opened again. "Corset?"
"CLOSE THE DOOR!" The door closed and padding footsteps were heard. Rajah's face was illuminated by the pool of light from the fire.
"What's going on in here?" he asked.
"Corset was just about to entertain us. Ready to dance, monkey?" Tigress asked teasingly.
"I take offence to that!" Monkey yelled.
"Sounds like fun. Can I be included, or is it a Jade Palace alumni thing?" Rajah asked.
"Yeah, it's the second one. Luckily for you, dates are allowed. Unluckily for you, Chen Hu is mine because he helped me set up," corset explained.
"It's alright, he can be my date," Tigress offered, patting the empty spot next to her. Corset rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Fine. Just sit down and be quiet. I want to do this before I wrinkle up and look like a witch. Or worse, like Tigress."
Rajah sat down. She cleared her throat and picked up a large brown suede drawstring bag.
"Welcome, all. I hope you enjoy this evening's tale. It's one I heard myself from a llama herder on my last trip to Central America. And it is called…"
She reached into the drawstring bag and pulled out a handful of powder, throwing it onto the fire. The fire leapt up, and a title appeared.
"…The Tale of the Aztec Princess."
"Ok, where did that title come from? Is that even possible?"
"DON'T INTERRUPT THE FORCES, TIGRESS!"
"Alright, alright, no need to yell."
Once upon a time, many decades ago during the time of the Aztec civilization, there lived a beautiful young princess named Solana. She was adored by all her people, and she in turn adored them. She could hardly wait until she assumed the throne and got to be queen. And for much of her life, that was all she thought about. Being queen, what she would say as queen, what she would do as queen.
But then something went wrong. One day, a servant entered her room. His name was Miguel. He was just an ordinary servant, coming to refill the princess' water jug. But on first sight, she fell madly and passionately in love with him.
At first he didn't reciprocate her feelings, but over time he came to love her just as much. Every day he came into her room to refill the water jug…
…and didn't come out for quite a while.
But it wasn't these long meetings that made her father, the king, suspicious. Every day he invited his daughter to dinner to discuss the affairs of the kingdom. But she had stopped taking interest in domestic affairs, and only stared blankly into space and nodded every so often as he talked.
So one day he went to her room to see what was the matter. And he discovered Solana and Miguel together. He was outraged that his daughter would shame him by loving someone beneath her. But he remembered that there was soon to be a sacrifice to the gods on the stone altar.
A human sacrifice.
And who was more fit to be a sacrifice than someone who is in love? So the king sent out the ultimatum that Miguel was to be the human sacrifice. When the princess heard the news, she wept and wept, and refused to come to the ceremony that would bring about her lover's death.
After it was over, she ran to the altar. Miguel's body was still there, and only his heart was missing, having been ripped out for the sacrifice.
Solana wept over his body for hours, before she saw the long, bloody dagger that had cut out his heart. The heart he had promised to her. She turned it in her hand and looked over it. The blood was still warm. And she took it and left.
The next morning, the king and all his advisers were found to be dead, their hearts ripped out of their chests. Solana stood at the altar where Miguel's body still lay. She raised the dagger high above her head, and stabbed herself.
They say that she still roams the ancient ruins of the palace, carrying a dagger, and with her clothes drenched in blood. She's waiting for the spirit of Miguel to come for her. She's still waiting for her true love to return.
Corset removed the hood of the cloak, allowing her face to be bathed in light. "Did you like the story?"
"That was great! I was totally scared!" Po exclaimed.
"It wasn't that scary. You're too much of a romantic to be in horror," Tigress said.
Corset shrugged. "Maybe so. But did it sound familiar in any way?" she asked. Tigress raised an eyebrow at her, and corset mirrored the action. Tigress looked away and surveyed the room.
"You did a good job with the decorations. It'll look nice for the party." Corset smiled as Tigress left, letting the light of day pour into the room. She may not be yet, she thought as she poured a tin bucket of water onto the fire, but she's coming over to the believer side. She just needs some more time.
A/N: I spent this chapter reminiscing about my childhood by watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes on YouTube while writing this. I used to be really scared of that show, but now I wish I had watched it more often. If you search "AYAOTD episodes", you can watch them and see what I mean. It's the perfect show to watch on Halloween Night. Holla!
