Kung Fu Panda: Apocalypse Now by
Mitchicus
Chapter 11: The Ghost
A/N: Here's another chapter of AN! This story has OCs from SilverTigerDirector (Koru and Yunwei, Jiu-Ne, Ko-Ri, and Tigress' real name, Hei-Wa), Racin Mason 24 (Xueren and Michael, with respect for his service), The Mysteriouswatcher (Kajirn), taskarrthetwisted (Kann), Gravidal The Dragon (Gravidal Bian), Psychic ninja (Jiraiya), Tigerizza (as herself), KungFuPandaFanatic (Devastator), and Keelin The Tiger (Keelin Falco). The soundtrack for this chapter is on my page on Deviantart, so please find it there. And now to the chapter!
Part II
April 23, 1969.
While Po had joined the SOG, The Ghost did not stop his hunting for a minute.
A heavy rain fell over the jungles of South Vietnam, soaking both sides. Corporal Martin woke up, grasping his bleeding head with one hand as he looked at the helicopter from the inside. The huey had crashed in the jungles, and pieces of it now littered the ground around the chopper.
"Everyone alright?" He called out.
"Pilot's dead…and my arm's broken." The copilot coughed, looking out at the jungle through the broken windshield.
"We're good here." Two GIs said, picking themselves off of the floor of the helicopter.
"The VC will be on us any minute now." Martin said, the Americans beginning to curse and pray.
The copilot tried to activate the radio, seeing that it broke in the crash.
"We're alone out here; we have to surrender." The copilot said, everyone getting out of the helicopter.
They heard shouts in Vietnamese, squinting to see through the rain. A large force of Vietcong surrounded them, and the Americans put their hands above their heads.
"Get down, American scum!" One officer said, and the Americans did so.
He pulled out his pistol and shot the copilot, his body falling to the ground. The Americans trembled in fear, one trying to run and being shot as a result.
"Please, don't shoot-" One GI said before he was shot, the officer now pointing his gun at Martin.
"Please sir…I have a wife and kids." He pleaded.
The officer grinned. "Should have thought of that before you came over here."
"No!" Martin yelled before being shot, a picture of his wife and children falling onto the ground beside him.
They had only angered the monster that would cost all of them their lives.
The officer holstered his weapon. "Stack their bodies, and then we will burn them when the rain stops."
The soldiers did so, piling them in the mud. A Vietcong soldier picked up the photograph of Martin's family as he smoked a cigarette, looking at his wife.
"Damn, she's not even sexy." He said in Vietnamese, making the others laugh.
One soldier however, stood away from the group, the PPsh-41 in his hands trembling. The same soldier that took Martin's picture went over to him, throwing his mud to the ground before going to his side.
"What is wrong, Chinh?" The soldier asked.
Chinh sighed. "I'm scared to death, Danh."
"About what?"
"Him." Chinh said. "This is his territory, and his weather."
"We are the warriors of the rain and the highlands." Danh said. "Not your myth; the Americans will agree with me. This 'Ghost' that you keep ranting about is fake; he's just a hoax."
"I know he is not a made up warrior." Chinh said. "I've heard him."
"What?"
"I've heard him in the night. I've heard him laugh, and heard his magazines load." Chinh said.
"You are just putting more stress on yourself by this." Danh said.
"Explain the stacked dead, and no helicopters anywhere to be seen where we find them; whoever kills them is not being taken out of his mission, for he is a lone wolf. I have a wife and kids; I don't want to die. I got drafted, and now I'm stuck here for another six months. I just want to get out of this god damn war."
"Whatever you say, Chinh." Danh said.
Suddenly, blood splattered Chinh, his eyes widening as he wiped off the blood. He turned and saw Danh fall over, dying. The other soldiers were alerted, the officer shouting orders before a bullet went through his chest, sending him to the ground and ultimately killing him.
"It's him! It's The Ghost!" One soldier yelled, everyone firing in every direction to try and hit the elusive soldier.
They ceased firing, reloading their weapons and only hearing the sound of rain. Suddenly, they heard eerie laughter in the jungle, and lighting flashed, briefly revealing the figure of the horrifying warrior staring at them.
A soldier screamed, dropping his weapon and beginning to run in the opposite direction, his comrades following him as they fired back at the Ghost. The cunning warrior walked over to the dying Danh, looking into his widening eyes.
"You…you are real." Danh said weakly.
"Yes…and I am your worst nightmare." The Ghost said as he drew his machete before beheading him.
The Vietcong ran as fast as they could, one soldier even firing an RPG rocket behind them, knocking over several trees by the explosion. A straggler was grabbed by The Ghost, pulled behind a tree so he was not seen, and strangled. After dropping his body to the ground, The Ghost continued on.
Three Vietcong soldiers turned and opened fire with their rifles, only being struck by the power of an M60 wielded by the relentless Ghost. The Vietcong continued to run, grenades beginning to fall around them, exploding. Vietcong were shot into the air by the explosions, and they hoped to reach the nearest village, drawing the elusive warrior into the open.
A knife sailed through the air, making a soldier groan and fall to the ground. Ghost continued after them, retrieving his large knife and continuing the hunt. Chinh was in the front of the group, struggling to run. He threw down his rifle to be able to run faster, and went as fast as he could to get away from Ghost.
He turned his head as he ran, seeing a Vietcong pinned against a tree by The Ghost, screaming before he was sliced in half. He continued running, stumbling on a root and struggling to regain his speed. The Vietcong continued to panic, shooting in every direction.
Chinh's breathing became heavy, the tiger losing strength. He turned again, seeing none of his comrades behind him. He was overcome with fear, going to his knees and raising his arms in surrender. He posed like this for several minutes, only hearing the sound of the rain and thunder. Suddenly, he heard muddy footsteps, spinning his head in every direction to try and see the powerful warrior. He then turned around, seeing The Ghost right behind him. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled, making the sight all the more eerie.
The Ghost picked up Chinh with one hand, raising him off of his feet and drawing his machete, snarling.
"Please…I have a wife and kids." Chinh managed to say.
The Ghost stared into his fearful eyes…and then dropped him to the ground, Chinh beginning to cough. The Indochinese Tiger looked up at him, still afraid.
"Leave this war and live a peaceful life." The Ghost said, lighting flashing again.
When the light faded, The Ghost was gone, leaving Chinh alone in the rain.
The next day.
The C-130 landed on the runway of Firebase Bravo, formerly known as GI Beach. The back ramp was lowered, Po picking up his gear and getting out. He saw an old friend, dropping his things and wrapping Kann in a bear hug, the wolf chuckling.
"What the hell are you doing here, you son of a bitch?" Po asked, laughing.
"I got recruited like you, Po; Koru and Tigerizza are already here, but they're out on the mission as we speak. The rest won't get here until tomorrow."
"It's good to see you, my friend." Po said, patting him on the back and picking his stuff up as they walked down the runway.
They came back to Po's old barracks, and saw that it was left untouched since he had left it, and Red's huey sat on the helipad outside of it. He went to a nearby bar, and entered the building with Kann. At the bar sat Red, Mason, and an unknown pilot.
Po tapped Red on the shoulder, the wolf turning around to see Po grinning.
"Po, you little fucker!" He said laughing, shaking his hand.
"Good to see you too, Red." Po said and greeted Mason again.
"Po this is Jason, Jason this is Po." Red said.
"Nice to meet you sir." The wolf said and shook Po's hand. "I'm your copilot now; filling in Chase's place."
Po nodded. "When can we move out?"
"Right away…though I just had a beer." Red said, getting out of his chair and the other two doing so as well. "Where do we look?"
"Let's start with what's left with Kunee. Kann will go deeper into the highlands." Po said.
"That's pure commie territory; and you both will be split up. Are you still ok with that?" Mason asked.
"Sure am. Now let's head out." Po said, the group exiting the bar and Red, Mason, and Jason climbing into the huey, starting it up.
Po and Kann picked up their rifles and got into the huey. The gunship had recently had four more rocket pods added, a modification that Red managed to do himself. Two on each side (three on each side in all), they formed a triangle shape with the pods. The M60s magazines were extended, as were for the miniguns and the grenade launcher in the nose.
The helicopter took off, climbing into the sky. Po sighed. He was home again. The familiar jungles and friends, the battles. He could not lie in saying that he didn't miss some of the things that lay in Vietnam. However, it would be hard for him to see Kunee again, if his friend had truly died there.
"There it is, Kunee…or what's left of it." Red said, lowering the helicopter to a nearby field.
He hovered it over the ground, Po jumping out and turning off the safety to his M-16.
"Good luck, Po." Red said.
"I'll see you when the mission's over." Kann said, shaking Po's hand from the helicopter door.
Po stepped back, and the helicopter climbed into the air, vanishing from view. He was all alone in the jungle now…at least, him, Charlie, and The Ghost were in the jungle. He moved forward, stepping into the gates of hell. He could not see far in front of him, since a thick fog filled the area, making the mission all the more eerie.
Dead Americans and Vietcong lined the ground. Could The Ghost have killed Americans? He would find out soon enough. He suddenly saw a few Americans struggling on the ground, wounded. He rushed to help them, but dove onto the ground and hid in the grass as he heard the rumble of a tank.
A Russian PT-76 knocked down trees in the jungle, NVA soldiers riding on the sides of it. One pointed out the wounded Americans, and they aimed at them. Po closed his eyes as he heard them fire, and then opened them when the tank had passed.
He went to the bodies and collected the dog tags, putting them in his backpack. The panda continued on, stepping over a small stream. He found a dying Vietcong soldier, blood dripping out of his mouth. The panda went on one knee and helped him drink water from his canteen.
"Soldier, who did this to you?" Po asked in Vietnamese.
"The Ghost…The Ghost." The soldier said before going limp, Po standing up and putting his canteen away.
He sighed and continued on, coming to the land that was once Tigress' home village. This was it. He would finally get answers.
He went into the field, squinting to see through the fog. Ashes lay on the barren landscape, as well as burnt trees. Small pieces of wood that once were the huts of Tigress' people laid on the ground, and the rice patties held no water. In the distance lay more barren landscape, thanks to Agent Orange that was making both sides suffer. But that is not what nearly made him hurl.
Bodies of NVA and Vietcong lie stacked everywhere, blood trails from where they were dragged in all directions. The Ghost had certainly done this, knowing no American squad would do such a thing. He covered his nose with one paw to keep the smell of rotten flesh out of his nostrils, and tried not to look at the maggots eating the bodies and the flies buzzing around them.
He came to a part where only blood was on the ground, and pulled his paw away; getting cleaner air than what it was where the bodies were.
"Panda…you should not have come!" A booming voice said, echoing across the hills and alerting Po, the panda aiming down the sights of his weapon and spinning around, trying to find The Ghost. "You fool! Why have you come here?"
"Come out, Ghost, and we'll talk." Po said. "This does not have to end in bloodshed."
"It will end in bloodshed, but it will be your blood if you do not leave this place!" The Ghost roared.
"You know that I will not leave until I find out what happened to my friend." Po said, hearing laughter.
The Ghost did not speak, Po assuming that he had gone back into the jungles. He went into the jungles, searching for him. He travelled for thirty more minutes until he heard North Vietnamese shouting, and then hearing an explosion. He looked up to see a flaming tank turret flying through the sky.
"Wow…that SOB took out that tank." Po said, laughing.
He hurried forward, trying to find The Ghost battling the NVA. A group of Vietcong however, heard the panda and surrounded him. Po ducked behind a tree, bullets driving into it. He noticed a soldier in front of him and shot him quickly, rolling on the ground to another tree as an explosion from a grenade went off were he once was.
He fired his M203, blasting three communists into the air and killing them. He fired his weapon in bursts, desperately trying to kill those who surrounded him. He killed five more until one tackled him, pointing his machine gun down at him. Suddenly, a bullet went through his head, the guerilla fighter rolling to the ground.
The others turned to face the new threat, only seeing fog. They opened fire in all directions, Po seeing a glimpse of the warrior as he made one cut; beheading two of the Vietcong. The others desperately kept fighting, until they were shot by the concealed warrior. As they dropped to their knees and fell, they were continually shot, The Ghost making sure they were dead.
Soon the Vietcong there were wiped out, leaving Po alone in the jungle, only hearing the yells of wounded and dying communists. He dropped his M-16 and picked up a Vietcong soldier's machine gun, a WWII MG 42. The weapon is the fastest firing single barreled weapon to this day, nicknamed "Hitler's Buzz saw" by Allied troops for its sound and power. It had been captured by the Russians and given to the invaders.
He wielded the deadly machine gun and looked around the jungle, believing The Ghost to be in no way friendly.
"You dare wield that weapon against me?" He roared. "I am The Ghost, the ruler of Vietnam!"
"Not for long." Po said.
The panda fired all around the jungle, knocking down trees and trying to hit his target as he fired in a circle. He continued to do so until the weapon ran out of ammo, the panda dropping it to the ground and picking up his M-16 again, waiting for The Ghost.
"You truly are foolish, panda." The Ghost said, Po spinning around to face him.
Po tried to fire but the weapon was kicked out of his hands, and the panda hit in the face with the butt of the warrior's machine gun, making him roll to the ground and black out.
"Not much of a challenge." Ghost said proudly, and dragged the panda to his lair.
"Po, The Ghost is not a friendly! Repeat, he is not a friendly!" Koru yelled on Po's radio. "We've got American dead, wounded, and dying, and they profess him to be their enemy! Do not try to befriend Ghost! He is a mad killer!"
The panda never heard him, and he was captured by the ferocious warrior.
A/N: Po battles The Ghost and is ultimately captured by him. Next chapter: War Corrupts. The identity of Ghost is revealed, and Po must escape his clutches if he has to. Please review, share, comment, and please, no flames!