They say the Fenghuang is not one fowl with independent characteristics. It is a composition of many species; the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, the wings of a swallow. Its beauty cannot be described but as a symbolism of the perfect mother nature; its head is the sky, its eyes the sun, its back the moon, its feet the earth, its wings the wind, its tail the planets. Finally, its feathers are colored in the most vibrant fundamental colors; black, white, red, blue and yellow. Its size matches the universe, its wings travel faster than light itself. And on its chest lies the mark of peace; the Yin, waiting for its other half to complete it.
This extraordinary description, however, had nothing to do with what Shen saw inside the cell. Standing a little shorter than himself, with bright blue and white wings, stood a strange fowl -female judging from its smooth characteristics. The only similarity to the sacred bird, were her shiny eyes, a warm golden color that could hardly pass for an afternoon sun. Shen neared her feeling some sort of inner turmoil, as if this creature awakened something deep inside him.
We meet at last... She spoke without a mouth, the voice coming from inside his own head, even though Shen knew it was hers.
"Are you the Fenghuang?" Shen asked, dazzled from the variety of colors on her tail. Blue mixed with red gave purple, mixed with yellow gave green, then crimson and black, with infinite designs covering the layered feathers as they formed a waterfall behind her. Shen was a peacock and had grown up with peacocks but never before had he witnessed such beauty on a tail. The female fowl shook her head, her face expressionless yet so beautiful he couldn't look away.
I am part of her. I am her virtue.
"Oh," Shen exclaimed disappointed. Then it occurred to him; "Are there any other part?"
Yes. There is her vice.
"V-vice?" Shen mumbled, not knowing what to expect. Vice sounded pretty dangerous, and he was not in the mood for danger.
You must free me, the fowl changed subject.
"Easy to say," Shen said examining the bars that were her prison. Shen had worked with many materials back when he was younger, during his efforts to built his first cannon, but this kind of material he had never seen before. He touched it with a wing, then tried pushing it to asses how stable and hard it was. He brought his wing back inside his torn sleeve. "How do I get you out?" he asked, head leaning to the side. The fowl inside the cage performed a perfect curve with her also perfect neck.
That is for you to figure out.
Shen frowned. "You're not helping..." he mumbled then browsed around for something useful. Right then he noticed a small crack on the wall, where the cell bars ended. "That's it!" He shot up. In the middle of the air, something pulled him back down, crashing him forcefully on the ground. Dust entered his nostrils and he felt like choking. He coughed then used his wing to protect his eyes from the cloud of dust particles his fall had raised. Shen looked up; the familiar red bird -the one he had driven off back in Gogmem. The Phoenix stared at him, merciless ruby eyes stuck on him.
"And who might you be?" Shen mocked.
"I, my friend, am the vice."
At the same time, Po and Crane were entering Gogmem's tower -which was lightly guarded by some panthers, most of which were busy playing card games or laughing with each other. The courtyard was without a soul, Po noticed the gate to the tower was shut but not guarded. Crane gestured him to follow through one of the smaller gates around the tower. The dungeon appeared in front of them as they crept on top of the wall, along with a couple panthers and one snow tiger growling at them. Po recognized it as the one that had escaped when he and Shen fought a couple of them back in Tiger Mountain. He turned his head to Crane.
"This one," one paw finger pointing at the white feline now gesturing and yelling like crazy to the shrinking panthers, "was at Tiger Mountain before we left."
"Did it follow us?" Crane whispered back worriedly.
"Maybe. We must be extremely careful," Po tried to eavesdrop what the tiger was so furious about but couldn't -it was speaking in a language he did not recognize. "Time for stealth mode..." Po whispered then rolled on top of the wall, crossing it from side to side. Crane followed with a flap, the panthers did not hear. The two warriors watched as the snow tiger left the others guarding the prison and hurried to the tower. The panthers were now worriedly discussing something, a conversation that sounded a lot like meaningless growls and groans. Exploiting the turmoil, the two jumped behind the panthers and entered the prison. Inside there were no guards and it kept surprising Po the fact that though Gogmem was a vast city the only guards he had seen so far were a dozen of panthers outside its dungeon. He keeps his army around him as protection, Po thought. Not cool.
Crane led the way down several stairs, then inside a narrow corridor where cells were placed on ever side. Po took in his surroundings, careful not to get stuck in the corridor which was too narrow for a panda to go through.
"Po?" it was Tigress, who jumped up and hung outside their cell.
"Tigress!" Po yelled back. He hurried to the cell, followed by the flying Crane. Inside he saw the rest of his team along with Princess Fei, who had a weird look upon her face.
"No! Go away!" Tigress yelled and backed away from the bars. Po raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on?" Right then he heard a moan from behind him; Crane had disappeared.
"It's a trap, Po!" Tigress kept yelling. Po turned around and searched for the exit. But two panthers pushed the door shut, making the room darker than it already was. The panda prepared to fight, then realized it was pointless since he was practically stuck in a narrow place with so little lighting he could barely see. Something touched his back, and he turned around with a battle yell, slamming one of the felines against the wall. Another five jumped on his back, Po threw them off. One bit his leg and Po screamed in pain. Two tigers grabbed his arms. He felt cold steel around them, and a fatal blow that knocked him off his feet. The last thing he saw was that same snow tiger with a sick smile revealing its sharp teeth.
Back inside Tiger Mountain, Shen was fighting Feng, the evil self of Fenghuang. The problem with this battle was that it had nothing to do with any kind Shen had fought before. This affected him both sentimentally and physically, as Feng used his horrible powers to manipulate his mind and weaken him enough to attack his body then.
The shrieks of females and the constant cry of babies. The wet eyes of fathers who witnessed their children being slaughtered and the running people.
"Don't let them escape!"
The wolves howling and the snow falling on his crest, flames wrapping the wooden huts and warming his frozen heart. It had to be done.
"Get them!"
He points at a baby one, crying for its mother. Two wolves attack but are blocked by a large one, definitely male. The father hits them with an object; he cannot make out what's happening. The wolves return next to him, roll on the floor unconscious and are wrapped inside the flames.
A blow landed on his beak, sending his head back against the wall.
A female one grabs the baby and heads away. Shen turns around, a trivial sacrifice. But he is aiming for the young ones.
The next one lands on his chest, Feng grabs him by the neck and twists him around, bringing him to face his perfectly shaped face.
They chase her inside the forest, wolves growling and his calling for reinforcements.
"Where is the baby?" he asks, pinning the large animal down with his claws. She refuses to give an answer. The claw tears through the air and lands on her face, goes through her skin and paints the fur around her neck a crimson red. Shen backs off. The aura of death surrounds him; she is not breathing. Not even panting or pleading for mercy. Silence. What has he just done? What just happened? Tears form in the corners of his eyes, he looks back at the lifeless body behind him. Blood stains the snow, the wolves start sniffing for others who escaped, but he; he will never be the same.
"Give it up, Shen. You are not a hero." Feng spoke softly. The peacock called all his courage and pushed him away with a leg, leaving a small scratch on Feng's perfect chest. The Phoenix is slammed against the rock, Shen standing opposite him with the steep cliff on his back. Feng smiled devilishly, then awakened another horrible memory of his, one Shen had buried really deep inside for he never wanted to let it out again.
His wings slam the doors open, proudly walking inside with this usual pompous walk of his. They are both there, right ahead of him. Shen awaits the loving arms of his mother, the proud look on his father's eyes. He longs to hear he has not done wrong, he longs to scare his remorse away, to know he has been approved. Mother leans inside Father's arms and the Lord glares at him furiously. Shen widens his eyes and upon their faces he sees fear. Where is his approval? Where are his mother's loving arms? The deafening silence is killing him, the guilt is tearing his inside, he is in pain. And no one can cure him.
Feng charged at him, a hit Shen merely managed to block but sent him a few feet back and closer to the cliff edge. The Phoenix smiled vigorously.
"It's all over, I tell you!"
Shen knew it was all over. He had known from the first minute this familiar feeling of emptiness and heartache returned inside him. His focusing on revenge had managed to soothe it, but now it was back and Shen was panicked. Feng bolted toward him, Shen stepped aside and let him slip and almost fall of the cliff. The Phoenix used its sharp claws to hold itself, then turned around and faced his rival. Shen was encouraged by the familiar wave of fury that followed his moments of recollection. With his left wing he performed a powerful blow that landed on Feng's chest and pushed him back. The Phoenix escaped the fall a second time, then left an exasperated groan. Shen kicked him on the face, leaving a scratch on his perfect beak.
"You asked for it," Feng whispered. Suddenly his wings had set themselves on fire, flames wrapping his tail as well. Shen backed off, away from the fire sparks. Smoke filled the peafowl's nostrils as the Phoenix's tail set fire on some grass that had grown in cracks of the rock. The medallion... With more light now, Shen could clearly see a necklace hung around Feng's neck. In the middle of it hung a transparent stone, wrapped in gold and silver. Shen attempted a kick to grab the chain, but his leg was set on fire. Rolling on the ground to put it off, he didn't notice the Phoenix nearing him quickly. Before he could react, one fiery leg had stepped on his head, and Shen felt the warmth of Feng above him.
"It's all over, peacock."
Shen rolled his eyes, feeling dazzled by the heat and smoke. His head was pressed tightly against the ground, in a way that made his eyes want to pop out. Feng laughed devilishly, a laughter echoing through his ears.And then he realized nothing was yet over, he realized how mistaken Feng was because he had made the very same mistake some months ago. He had underestimated his opponent.
The noise of feathers moving snapped Feng back into reality, as Shen opened his tail and threw him off. The immortal fowl rolled on the ground and once again reached the cliff edge. Fortunately for the peacock, Feng's medallion chain was caught on a small rock and broke noisily.
"NOOO!" The Phoenix raised both arms skyward and screamed in frustration and agony. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU FOOL?"
Shen glared at him dismissively, then hurried to pick up the medallion stone. He brought it near his face with a leg. Feng was ready to plead for his medallion, when his eyes got fixed behind Shen, inside the cell. The look upon his face made Shen sympathize for a moment. He then turned around and found the cell empty. Panicked he looked back at Feng but he, too, had disappeared. The peacock positioned himself for a fight, but was left stunned when the cry of a bird was heard behind him. With the only difference of being an extraordinary cry; one he had never heard before.
The Fenghuang flapped its vast wings, made of wind and fire, and soared upwards. Shen was left dazzled staring at its tail as it shot upwards in front of him. He then realized there was no way out of the mountain, and spontaneously threw himself at the bird, clutching a tail feather -one feather was around his size- with his claws and holding the stone medallion in between his beak firmly. The sweet smell of nature and the warm night breeze hit him on the face as the Fenghuang appeared on the sky.
Meanwhile Gogmem was being suffocated by the infinite dark cloud that served Yang as a portal. Desperate to find his other half, the Yin, -also known as the Fenghuang- Dragon Yang used portals to travel from place to place and search for her. His brother, Yenn knew of his travels, and had used portals himself. Though not half as powerful as Yang, Yenn could predict his brother's coming. And he assessed it would be...tonight.
Inside the dungeon, not that far from the evil dragon, the Furious Five, the master's council and Princess Fei were still locked inside their dungeon, now even more desperate because they had seen their only hopeful plan fail in front of their very eyes. Tigress banged her handcuffed fists against the wall, the noise of collision echoing inside everyone's head.
"We must do something," she said.
The others remained still and silent, each one lost in their thoughts and their misery. Princess Fei softly stood on her legs -no loosely tied with a chain- and headed for the wall where Tigress had punched. A crack had formed on it. She leaned and looked outside, a quick glance at the dark blue sky which now spit lightnings and occasionally rain. She turned her eye downwards and saw the passage below them. If only she could get the wall broken... The peahen felt her heart leap in her stomach. Something had to be done now.
"We have to save him," Tigress said, trying to get them motivated.
"Save him why?" Princess Fei stood precisely in front of the cracked wall, "He's the one who got us into this, with his stupidity and clumsy ways. Had he been more careful, we'd all be free now."
"Watch it, Fei..." Viper whistled with a threat.
"Watch what? If I'm wrong correct me when I say that Po is nothing but a fat, imbecile loser!"
Tigress' battle yell pierced the thin layer of silence in the dungeon. She aggressively charged at the peahen, who dodged her incoming punch at the last minute. Clouds of dust were formed around them, covering the fallen Princess. Everyone stared at the fallen wall stunned. Tigress banged her handcuffs against a collapsed stone and broke them in half. Then she helped the rest of the Furious Five. Mantis crawled between the bars into the opposite cells where Masters Ox and Croc were placed, and released them as well. Princess Fei got on her feet and shared a worried look with Tigress. She was obviously still irritated, but had probably taken the hint in Fei's actions.
"Good job," monkey touched the peahen's shoulder as he jumped outside to check the ground. He then waved for the others to follow.
"What's going on down there?" was heard from the the up the stairs.
"Go," Master Ox said. "We'll take care of them."
Tigress nodded then was the last to jump out, followed by Princess Fei who smiled kindly at the two Masters.