Well, As promised I give you chapter 13. would have had it up a little sooner if my computer would cooperate... I miss my laptop...*sigh*
Anyway. I am now done with Part 1 to Fate Can Be So Cruel and as promised, will not start posting another story until this one is finished. Updates may not be daily but they will be occurring far more often than in the past. Thanks for your patience and enjoy the read!
Chapter 13
Fire burns brightly…
The Warriors of the Jade Palace wasted no time in plunging head on into the sea of wolves as they quickly began to engage the mercenaries in battle. Although outnumbered at least 7-1 The Masters of the Jade Palace as well as Nightshade managed to hold their own against the small army of wolves.
As Shifu finished twirling his Master's staff about bringing it down in between the eyes of the current wolf in front of him, he called out to his students, "We need to find that Key! And someone needs to go after Drizen!" Shifu then looked over to Po, Nightshade and Tigress shouting, "One of you needs to go now! The other two will follow!"
At this Tigress nodded her head as Po shouted, "I got this!" he was about to head for the stairs when Tigress leaped over and blocked his path saying, "Not this time Panda. I'll go ahead." Po's eyes narrowed as he argued, "No way! You're not going to face that maniac alone. Not without me!" Tigress then leaped up and delivered a tornado kick to and approaching wolf from behind while Po sidestepped another's sword swing and countered with a solid punch to the face, followed by his own spin kick.
Tigress then snapped as she turned to face her husband, "What? You think I can't handle myself? Is that it Panda? Need I remind you that I held him off by myself just fine last time?" Po then shook his head as he leaped back and kicked another wolf in the face while Tigress vaulted over his shoulders and front flipped into an axe-kick, bringing her foot down upon another adversary. Po then retorted, "That's not it! I just-" but Tigress cut him off as she said in an understanding tone, "I know Po…but I'm going because I can get to him the fastest."
Tigress looked over at Nightshade who was making his way over towards Feng and his two lieutenants as he twirled his staff around knocking the wolves out of his way as he moved. "Nightshade is otherwise occupied at the moment, and besides." As Tigress looked up at the staircase they were nearby and smirked, "Dragon Warrior or not, stairs are still not your thing."
Po heaved a heavy sigh as he extended his paw and Tigress grabbed hold as he swung her around while she kicked at about 6 wolves which had surrounded them at that point in the face, creating some space around them. Reluctantly Po conceded to his Wife's wishes as he said, "I'll be right behind you with Nightshade Tigress…just be careful!"
Tigress nodded before saying, "Promise." And with that, Tigress turned around and began sprinting up the stairs. Her path soon became blocked however by a pair of wolves each wielding a battle axe. Tigress never slowed down however as she quickly leaped up the stairs and delivered a deadly split kick to the two, knocking them each unconscious before they could even hit the floor. "Amateurs" Tigress muttered as she resumed climbing the spiral stair case in search of Drizen.
As Po watched Tigress climb up the stairs, Gladir nearly shouted at the Panda from the back of his mind, "Focus Po! The faster you take care of these wolves and find that artifact, the sooner we can make it to Tigress!" Po immediately snapped out of his daze as he turned to face a hallway off to his right and said, "Right…I got to take care of things here first…then I can go back up Tigress."
As Po began running down the Hallway, all he could think about was Tigress going toe to toe with Drizen up above. He knew Tigress could take care of herself. After all, not only did she possess the Heroines Flame, but she was also the fiercest member of the Furious Five, and one of China's Two Lights, not to mention the only woman recognized by the Emperor to be worthy of becoming the Dragon Warriors Wife without him having to relinquish his title. An honor that wasn't exactly easy to acquire. But still, despite knowing all of this, Po still didn't like the idea of his Wife going off to face Drizen alone. "Once we find that artifact, I'm coming straight for you Tigress…I promise." And with that, Po picked up the pace and entered a room filled with about 9 wolves all frantically searching for presumably the same thing he was.
Po then called out, "Hey, any of you guys find a weird rock lying around? About this big, really boring looking?" as Po held up his paws to indicate the rough size of the Key he was searching for. At once, the Wolves turned around and began snarling at the Dragon Warrior as they quickly withdrew their weapons and began to approach him, swords at the ready. Po just raised an eyebrow asking, "No? Okay, then let's get this over with!" as he immediately sprinted forward and launched himself towards the center of the group, determined to make short work of them so that he could move on.
Meanwhile, with Nightshade…
Nightshade was barreling his way through the wolves that were placing themselves between him and Feng, as he delivered a vicious snarl while spinning his black staff around, striking ant any and every foe who dared try to keep him from his target. He knew he had to be searching for that Key, which was why he was casting quick glances around anytime he managed to get a brief moment's reprieve from the seemingly endless onslaught of Wolves under his Father's command.
Nightshade quickly parried an attacking wolf's sword as he grunted in momentary discomfort, but quickly he spun his staff to the left and smashed the one end into his opponents face, knocking them out almost instantly. Normally Nightshade could wipe out this entire room in a matter of seconds if he were to call on the powers of his True Darkness. The last remaining remnants of the once great and powerful Dark Dragon named Hei'an, that had once manipulated Nightshade into helping to free him from his earthly prison, were now under Nightshade's complete control as he, with the help of the Dragon Warrior, had managed to take those remaining Remnants of Darkness and make the power his own and not Hei'an's.
The only thing stopping him from unleashing his power, was the vow he had made not only to Shifu and the emperor, but also to the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress, to never use those powers against a normal opponent, no matter what. And after everything Po and Tigress had done for him, he wasn't about to back out on his word for any reason. Even if that reason was standing just a few yards in front of him.
As Nightshade finished knocking out his last opponent, he heard Feng calling out to him from the end of the room, "Not bad punk. I see you haven't just been wasting your life away all these years. You would have done well as one of Lord Shen's solders." Nightshade quickly spun around and glared at Feng who was standing at the end of the one chamber he had found himself in after separating from the others.
Standing behind Feng were the same two lighter gray wolves, each wearing similar armor to their leader's while the male had a single scimitar strapped to his waist, and the female had two twin daggers strapped to her own waist. The two looked almost identical, right down to their black face masks that covered the bottom halves of their faces. Nightshade just responded with a snarl as he snapped back, "Not a chance Feng! Shen was a mad man! And you were a fool for ever believing in his twisted vision!"
Feng actually just chuckled as he called out to the black furred wolf, "I see you still haven't learned to respect your Alpha, Nightshade. So it looks like I'll have to remind you just who it is you're talking to! Just like the good old days." At this Nightshade growled as he remembered all the years his father might come home drunk and start to assault his mother while Nightshade hid away with his two younger siblings in their room, praying he would not come in and start on them. Nightshade then looked up at Feng, his eyes full of conviction as he stated, "You're not my Alpha Feng…Not since the day I chose not to Follow Shen-" It was here where Feng nearly shouted as he interrupted Nightshade, "-You mean the day you abandoned your Pack! You are the traitor here Nightshade, not I! It was you who turned your back on your family!"
Nightshade stared at the Dark gray wolf and his two lieutenants as he pondered over his words. Finally Nightshade replied as his shoulders slumped forward a bit, "Maybe you're right…maybe I was a traitor. Yes, I chose to leave the pack. Yes, I turned my back on my Alpha-" at this, Nightshade looked back up at Feng, his Steel blue eyes piercing Feng with a look that the Wolf could not help but slightly reel back from as Nightshade finished, "But if I had to, I'd do it all over again!"
Hearing Nightshade say that, caused Yin to lower her eyes briefly in disappointment. Out of the corner of her eye she could just make out Min looking over at her briefly, concern showing in his eyes before he quickly returned his attention back to Nightshade as did Yin. They had a job to do here, whether or not Nightshade interfered. They couldn't let their emotions cloud their judgment, lest they too be viewed as traitors.
Feng laughed as he asked in mock interest, "So, you fancy yourself as your own Alpha, do you punk? Don't make me laugh! You couldn't lead a pack to save your life!" Nightshade surprised the three of them right then as he nodded his head and stood tall, as he was now smirking at the Leader of the Fang and replied, "You're right. I'm no leader, nor do I want to be. Which is why I found myself a new Alpha. One who actually leads by example and cares about the members of his pack. An Alpha, who isn't afraid to lay his life down for not only the members of his Pack, but for anyone!"
Feng raised his eyebrow in confusion as he asked in genuine confusion, "Oh? And who is this Alpha of yours Nightshade? Who has earned the loyalty of a Bastard Son who won't even follow his Father?" Nightshade looked down at his staff briefly as he stared at the white Dragon that wrapped around in and actually smiled then. This did not go unnoticed by Yin, as she continued watching her older brother with keen interest.
Finally Nightshade looked up at the three Wolves before him and declared in a voice willed with such loyalty and devotion that the three Wolves could not help but gasp slightly. "My Alpha…Is none other than the Dragon Warrior. He's risked his life for me more times than I care to count, and I would follow him to the ends of the earth. HE, is a leader worth following. Not Shen!"
Feng just glared at Nightshade for a long moment, his eyes narrowed almost into slits as he stared upon his oldest son. Of all the people Nightshade would follow unconditionally, it just had to be the Dragon Warrior; the one who ultimately destroyed his former Master. Feng then stepped forward as he withdrew his serrated blade and pointed it straight at Nightshade, while the two lighter gray wolves behind him also withdrew their own weapons; Yin unsheathing her twin daggers, while Min withdrew a curves scimitar hanging from his hip, as Feng declared seriously to Nightshade. "Make no mistake Nightshade…by following the Dragon Warrior; you subject yourself to our Packs revenge. If you chose to stand alongside him so devoutly…then it is alongside him that you too shall die!"
In that instant, Feng leaped for Nightshade as he brought his sword down in a mighty slash aimed right for Nightshade's head. As Nightshade watched the blade soaring towards him, the black furred wolf smirked before he brought his staff up at the last second in a parry and stared into the Alpha Wolf's searing red eyes as if amused. "Careful Feng, I'm not some snot nosed pup you can just smack around anymore."
Feng chuckled as he taunted while he forced his blade down upon Nightshade even more, "Oh? So the Pup thinks he's grown does he? Know this Nightshade, I will always be superior to you and nothing will change that." Nightshade just laughed as he countered, "You think so old man?" but Feng just leaped back a bit as he replied, "I know so. The strength of the Alpha is determined by the strength of his pack!" in that instant the remaining two wolves each arrived and surrounded Nightshade, the three now forming a triangle around the Black wolf.
Nightshade eyed each of the wolves cautiously. Something was off about those two. They hadn't said a single word this entire time yet the one was looking over at Nightshade almost as if she was reluctant to fight. But if these were his top lieutenants…his Betas. Then they should be following his orders without question, or reluctance…so why…?" but Nightshade just pushed the thoughts aside and turned to look at Feng with an amused expression on his face as he asked, "Is that so? Well then, you best surrender now while you still can Feng."
Feng just laughed at Nightshade's words as he asked, "And why would I do something like that!?" Nightshade just smirked as he said while twirling his staff a bit, "Because I've got the strongest Pack there is. You and your Pack don't stand a chance." And as if on cue a loud roar was heard coming from above, as Feng and his lieutenants looked up briefly while Min asked, "What was that?" while Nightshade merely smirked as he responded with, "Looks like Master Tigress has found your employer Feng. I almost feel sorry for Drizen."
Feng just growled as he then barked over to his lieutenants, "Enough of this! I gave you your chance to surrender you ungrateful runt! Now you can die sooner rather than later!" immediately both Yin and Min looked at each other both thinking the same thing. Weren't they supposed to leave Nightshade for Drizen? Did Nightshade manage to enrage their father so much that he had forgotten Drizen's orders?
Suddenly their thoughts were distracted as Nightshade laughed once more as he asked, "You think so? Cause I don't." and immediately Nightshade pushed up with his staff forcing Feng back as Nightshade twirled his staff to the left and struck out at Feng with so much force that the Larger wolf was thrown back several feet.
As Yin looked from her Commander then back to Nightshade, and as her eyes landed on the wolf, she could have sworn she saw his eyes flicker brightly for just a second before they were back to their normal steel blue color. Deciding it was a mere trick of the light, Yin looked over to Min who nodded in acknowledgement, and together the two rushed for Nightshade at once, while the black wolf twirled his staff around and waited for the two to approach him. But before he engaged the two smaller wolves, Nightshade could not help but smirk at the sight of his father wiping a bit of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Oh how he used to dream of delivering dishing out just a little bit of payback to that scumbag.
But Nightshade was brought back from his thoughts as he leaned back from the male's downward sword strike, while he quickly blocked the she-wolf's first dagger with his staff, as he leaped away from her second dagger, creating a small distance between the two as he landed in a low crouch. Feng then stepped before the two as he declared, "I'm going to enjoy putting you in your place punk. It'll be just like the good old days." Nightshade just countered as he readied himself, "Says the old man with a bloodied lip."
Feng just snarled at Nightshade and after a quick look to his lieutenants, the three gray wolves charged Nightshade right then while the black wolf held his ground and waited for them to reach him.
Moments earlier with Tigress…
Tigress was racing up the spiral staircase, the black Raven's laughter cackling from seemingly all directions as she pushed forward trying to find the dark sorcerer. She had lost sight of him early on but was using her sense of smell to track the bird and despite her ears ringing with that sick maniac's laughter, her nose was pointing her in a single direction and she was going to follow it.
As she rounded a nearby corner Tigress's eyes widened in shock as she saw several chairs flying towards her at a dangerous speed. Thanks to years of constant training, Tigress quickly struck out and smashed each of the chairs with ease, launching a powerful spin kick at the last one as it shattered under the force of her blows. Hopefully those weren't important to any of the exhibits.
Just then Drizen's cackling could be heard from up ahead as the Raven slowly stepped out from behind a large suit of armor with his wings held behind his back as he sneered at Tigress who immediately adopted her fighting stance as she snarled the Raven's name, "Drizen!" Again the Raven laughed as he stood in the center of the Hall several yards away from Tigress and said, "Ah Master Tigress. So good to see you again after so many years. Tell me, have you enjoyed your time married to that infernal Panda?"
Tigress's eyes narrowed as she responded viciously, "Just a bit more than I'm going to enjoy breaking your wings Drizen. You won't be able to just run away like last time you coward!" but throughout her threats, Drizen's face never faltered as he continued chuckling at the Tiger Master his bright yellow eyes gleaming towards her as he asked, "Oh? You think so do you? Tell me something though Master Tigress…who is running?"
Immediately Drizen raised his right wing and shouted at her as two nearby scroll cases were immediately lifted into the air, and started flying towards Tigress at an alarming speed. Without even considering her next move, Tigress quickly closed her eyes and her Dragon's heart necklace started to shine with a familiar fiery red glow.
As Drizen watched the cases soar towards Tigress, he suddenly heard a rather savage roar as the cases were almost instantly obliterated and scattered around the hall in several pieces. Some of them were now even on Fire! As Drizen looked down the hall he saw Tigress standing at the end of the hall, her necklace now shining brightly as her entire being was now wrapped within the fiery red aura of the Heroine's Flame. But what Drizen noticed immediately was that the Tiger's dangerously sharp claws were now glowing a bright Orange and were also engulfed in powerful flames.
As Tigress slowly began making her way towards the Raven she began to snarl at the sorcerer, "If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender peacefully Drizen. Otherwise I can't promise you'll be able to walk away from this with all your feathers still attached to your person." Drizen snickered briefly before asking the Tiger in an uninterested tone, "My dear, do you honestly think I am afraid of you? You could not stop me by yourself all those years ago, what makes you think you can stop me this time? Face it, you are nothing without that insufferable Panda or that insolent Nightshade. You are… insignificant."
Suddenly in a blur of movement Tigress had vanished before the Raven's eyes at a blinding speed as the Raven blinked briefly in surprise. But before he could say anything he heard the Tiger's dark tone whispering behind his ear, "You think so?"
Before Drizen could even turn around, Tigress had launched a powerful Double palm strike at the Raven's back, launching him halfway down the hall before he was able to catch the air with his wings and stop himself as he turned around in mid-air, landing gently on the ground. Tigress blinked briefly in surprise until she recalled how when she had first fought Drizen he had used Wards to cast spells of protection around him to keep him from being seriously hurt. "But…if I recall correctly, the more we hit him back then, the weaker he eventually became."
Drizen then called out to Tigress, gaining her attention once more, "I do hope that is not your best effort Master Tigress, otherwise I'm beginning to think you might actually be an even smaller threat than I first believed." Tigress just growled as she snapped back, "Keep talking Drizen. Those Wards won't be able to protect you for long! Not when I'm done with you!" Drizen grinned as he responded with, "So you do learn from experience. That is good, otherwise I would have learned these new tricks for nothing." And in that instan Drizen held up his left wing towards Tigress and cried out, "Shenra, Doschte Yiegraha!"
Slowly the suit of armor Drizen had originally hid behind began to move, causing Tigress to turn around as her eyes widened in disbelief, while she watched the suit of armor, as well as the one across from it come to life, both of them now facing towards her as she held her ground and unsheathed her flaming claws once again while shouting, "You think these things can stop me Drizen!?" Drizen then answered as if he was being insulted, "Oh gracious no Master Tigress…well…at least not by themselves."
But before Tigress could question the Raven, four of the doors around her suddenly opened as 8 additional suits of Rhino battle armor began walking out into the massive hall to surround her, forcing Tigress to growl in frustration as the path back to Drizen was now cut off by the lifeless suits of armor. "But I do believe these may prove to be a somewhat suitable challenge for even you."
After analyzing her situation Tigress's claws flared even brighter as she challenged, "Well then, don't disappoint me Drizen. HYAAAAH!" and with that, Tigress lashed out at the nearest suit of armor leaving 4 bright red claw marks across it's chest plate while severing its right arm. As Drizen watched the Tiger Master fight off the enchanted suits of armor, he saw how with each of her attacks, more and more sparks were ignited as her flaming claws struck against the metal, and all Drizen could do was grin deviously as he stood by and simply watched.
Back with Nightshade…
Nightshade weaved in and out of the three gray wolves attacks, successfully dodging each strike but failing to see and opportunity to strike back. Whenever he did manage to block an attack, just as he was about to counter with his own attack, he'd have to jump back, or adjust his weapon to defend against another strike. at this rate he wasn't going to be able to defat these three any time soon. Their attack were too well coordinated, too well practiced. All Nightshade could do in that moment was maintain the stalemate and fend them off. If only he could justify using his Darkness…or at least had some back up.
Sensing Nightshade's doubt, Feng decided to latch on to it as he brought his blade down upon Nightshade once more while the wolf parried his strike, the two once again locked in a struggle while the two smaller wolves circled them. Feng then taunted the dark wolf, "Heh heh, looks like today's going to be your last day after all Nightshade." Immediately, Yin's eyes fell momentarily, but she shook her head and refocused while Nightshade spat back, "Don't count on it Feng! You haven't seen anything yet!"
But the dark gray wolf could only howl with laughter as he continued to push nightshade back, as he swung high, then low, to the left and to the right, trying to find a hole in Nightshade's defense. But Nightshade was proving to be quite skilled indeed. Feng then growled as he locked himself once again into a parry with Nightshade, "You say the Dragon Warrior is a worthy Alpha to follow, but answer me this BOY. Why does he not fight alongside you? Where is your precious Panda now!?" "Right here fleabag!"
Both Nightshade and Feng turned to see who the source of the voice was and immediately both eyes widened in shock. Hurling its way towards them down the hall was a large black and white ball of sorts at an incredible speed. Recognizing the technique, Nightshade shoved Feng forward as he leaped backwards and out of harm's way, while Po slammed his rolled up form right into Feng sending him flying into a nearby wall. "Commander!" Yin shouted as she and Min looked over towards where their leader had landed, only to turn back and start o glare dangerously at the Dragon Warrior.
As Po bounced his form up once he quickly unrolled himself and entered his fighting stance as he called out, "Gotta love the Panda Roll technique." Nightshade smirked as he retorted, "And here I thought you only used that to first dibs on Master Monkey's almond cookies. Did you find the key Dragon Warrior?" Po merely shook his head no saying, "Not yet, I was hoping you had better luck." as he and nightshade now stood back to back while the two lieutenants began circling them once more. Nightshade kept his eyes focused on the enemy as he muttered, "I hope the others are doing better than we are.
It was then that Feng had finally recovered from that surprise attack and as he got to his feet and looked forward he saw the Dragon Warrior standing back to back with Nightshade as they squared off with his two lieutenants. A deep growl was released from Fen as his eyes landed on the Panda and he was about to drive his sword into the Panda's flesh, when his right pocket suddenly started to glow.
Reaching into his pocket and pulling out the only item from within, Feng had withdrawn the crystal Drizen had entrusted to him in order to find the remaining keys. As Feng looked down at the once clear crystal, he saw it was now glowing with a bright red aura unlike the first key, which the crystal had reacted with a green glow. did this mean a key was nearby? Or something else?
As Feng pointed the key to the left, the crystal began to glow dimmer. But the instant he pointed it to the right, it began to shine brightly and so Feng looked ahead noticing only one item of potential interest. Sitting up against the far was sat a rather ornate looking vase, with the image of the first emperor painted on the front. As Feng approached the vase, his crystal began to shine almost to brightly to see anything, and so, he quickly pocketed the crystal and picked up the vase, quickly smashing it to the ground.
The instant it shattered, Po Nightshade, and the remaining two wolves looked over to see Feng bending forward to pick up a round object. As he held it before him, Feng then muttered, "Finally…I have located the second artifact." Po then looked over at the artifact and shouted, "The Key!" while Nightshade added, "We can't let him leave here with that key!" But before the two could rush the Commander, Feng snarled at his lieutenants, "Hold them here! I must get this to Drizen!" and with that, Feng darted down a nearby hallway, with Po shouting, "Bring that back!" as he forgot completely about the wolves and began chasing after Drizen.
Min tried to block the Panda's path, but Po just kept running forward. As Min brought his sword down in a powerful strike, Po caught the younger wolf by the wrist and threw him over into a knocked over stature of the former Emperor, knocking the wolf unconscious, while Yin called out "Brother!" But Po wasn't paying her any attention as he raced after Feng and back towards the staircase.
Yin immediately ran over towards her brother and checked to see if he was okay, removing his mask to make sure he was still breathing. As she placed her head near his mouth, she could feel his breath against her face and a sigh of relief left her as she muttered, "Thank the gods." But unbeknownst to Yin, Nightshade was staring at the male wolf wide eyed.
Looking upon the unmasked face of the younger wolf, there was no mistaking who it was. It was Min, Nightshade's younger brother. But as Nightshade was staring at the male wolf his eyes slowly moved over to the she wolf. "She called him brother…does that mean…is she?" So Nightshade decided to take a risk and called out to the wolf using a name he had not spoken in years. "Yin?"
The she wolf's ears twitched over the name as she looked back at Nightshade, her eyes narrowed as she gently laid her brother down and turned to face the black wolf. As she got to her feet, Yin slowly began to remove her own Mask and nightshade's eyes widened in shock as he stared upon the face of his younger sister. Neither one said a word at first but eventually it was Yin who spoke first, as her grip tightened around both of her daggers, "Nightshade…it's been a long time."
Back with Tigress…
Tigress continued to tear into the suits of armor that were attacking her trying to subdue her. But with each and every strike she delivered, she was able to sever an arm or leg, sometimes even a head before each suit was becoming a pile of scrap metal. Unfortunately, her efforst had also started to cause a significant amount of danger and as a result, a fire was slowly beginning to spread thanks to the sparks caused by her flaming claws striking against the metal.
A she was focused on defeating the remaining two Suits of armor, she never even noticed Feng racing up the stairs shouting "Drizen! We found it! We found the second key!" instantly Tigress whirled around as she shouted, "What?" but was immediately tackled to the ground by one of the suits of armor, followed by the other.
Drizen immediately turned and saw the round rock in the Commander's paw and immediately his eyes widened to the size of a pair of shift stones. "Excellent work Feng! Call back your troops and retreat at once! We have what we came for!" Feng nodded as he leaned back and howled throughout the estate signaling the retreat, as he immediately threw a smoke pellet onto the ground and vanished without a trace.
Drizen was also about to take his leave when Tigress roared after him, "STOP!" Drizen turned to see Tigress kick both the suits of armor up into the air at once and as they were about to fall down, she quickly leaped up and Drizen watched as she turned his remaining two distractions into scrap metal. As she landed down on all fours, Tigress delivered a vicious growl as Drizen watched her advance upon him.
Despite the smoke and intense heat of the flames Tigress refused to just give up the key to Drizen. Once she was close enough, Drizen held up his left wing and immediately Tigress was raised up into the air by an unseen force, "WHA-!?" Tigress cried out, as Drizen laughed sinisterly and said, "A valiant effort Master Tigress, but this day goes to me. It's a shame we can't play a bit longer but I'm afraid I have business to attend to." And with a flick of his wrist, Drizen used his magic to launch Tigress down the burning hallway, all the while Tigress screamed in fury, "DRIZEN!" before she managed to hit the back of her head on a wall and quickly fell to the floor.
As Tigress tried to get up, she was immediately coughing due to the amount of smoke she was breathing in, while her head was continuing throb in pain. And the more she tried to struggle and get up, the faster her aura was beginning to fade until her claws were no longer ignited and her aura was completely dissipated as her last words were, "Got to…get…Drizen…Ugh." And with that, Tigress had passed out.
With Po…
Po was doing his best to race up the stairs as best as he could and surprisingly enough he had yet to stop running even once. The thought of Drizen getting his hands on that key was enough to spur Po forward but he was also worried about Tigress. Somehow a fire had broken out and was making its way down to the lower levels.
As Po carefully made his way up the steps while dodging the flames, he soon reached the top of the stairs and watched as Drizen had literally shot Tigress down a burning Hallway. "DRIZEN!" Po shouted at the raven, forcing the bird to turn around, appearing unsurprised that he was now standing before him. "Ah Dragon Warrior, so good of you to finally make it." Po then snapped as he took a step towards Drizen, "Give me that Key Drizen! You can't take me on by yourself. I'm stronger than the last time we did this!"
Drizen didn't doubt the Panda might be stronger than their last encounter but still he knew he was the one holding all the cards. "As much as I would love to stay and play with you Dragon Warrior, I'm afraid I have places to be." And with a wave of his wing, Drizen force his magic to shatter a nearby window, creating an exit for the Raven.
Po then shouted, "You aren't going anywhere with that Key thing Drizen, I won't let you!" Drizen then chuckled as he mused, "Isuppose you could try and capture me Panda…Or…you could go and save your Wife!" Immediately Po's head whirled to the left as he saw the flames quickly making their way over towards Tigress and immediately Po's heart fell. What should he do? Should he stop Drizen? Or risk everything to save Tigress?
Drizen quickly hopped up onto the window as he pocketed the key into a bag saying, "Time is up Dragon Warrior. What's it going to be?" Po just glared at Drizen for a long moment before he said, "When I see you again, I'm gonna make sure you pay for this." And with that Po began dashing down the Hallway and over towards the unconscious Tigress, while he listened to Drizen cackling behind him in victory, as the Raven leaped out of the window and escaped.
As Po neared Tigress he quickly slid to his knees crying out, "Tigress!" but as he picked uer up in his arms, he saw that she wasn't responding. Quickly Po put his ear to her chest and relaxed as he could hear a faint heartbeat. "She's alive Po, but neither of you will be for long if you don't get out of here!" Gladir pointed out as Po quickly picked Tigress up and turned to leave the way he came, only see the path had now been completely blocked off with flames.
"Great, *Cough* *Cough* Now what? I don't see an exit!" Gladir then nearly shouted, "Then make one Po! Use the Heroes Chi, Tigress won't last much longer at this rate." Po nodded as he closed his eyes and focused while he tried to find his center. Soon enough he was able to sense the familiar warmth inside him that was the Heroes Chi and so he called out to it. In no time at all, Po's entire being was wrapped in a bright golden aura, as he literally began shining like the sun.
Moving Tigress so that he was now carrying her on his back, with her arms wrapped around his neck and one hand holding her thigh while the other was held up in an open palm strike. The smoke was beginning to get unbearable as Po did his best to focus the Heroes Chi into his paw and soon hi began to glow with the concentrated energy of the Heroes Chi. Convinced he had enough built up, Po released the Heroes Chi into a powerful Chi blast that he fired at the west wall using everything he had.
The Beam traveled through about 4 rooms before it had finally managed to meet the outside wall to the estate but unfortunately the chi blast did not break through completely. But in doing so, the roof was now starting to crumble as Gladir shouted in the back of the Panda's mind, "Go! Before you two are buried and become permanent exhibits!" So after hefting Tigress up and making sure to have a good hold on her, Po began sprinting thorough the path he had just made, as the entire roof was now beginning to fall in all around him. As he ran, his mind was thinking of only one thing, Getting Tigress out.
As Po was quickly approaching the damaged wall, Gladir called out, "Po, you need to fire another Chi Blast!" But Po just grunted as he replied, "No time!" as the roof was now falling down all around them begging to smash through the floors. As he ran, Po focused as much as possible and was once again wrapped in the aura of the Heroes Chi, as he dashed forward towards the wall, his head leaned forward as Gladir shouted, "You must be joking!"
But once again the Dragon underestimated the Panda's stubbornness as Po literally leaped towards the wall at a high speed thanks to the Heroes Chi, and dove head first through the weekend structure, still clutching Tigress to his back as the two flew out into the fresh open air.
And that is chapter 13. Worry not, I have not forgotten the other Masters or about the missing caretakers. We'll get to them in the moments leading up to the estate catching fire early in the next chapter. As well as Nightshade's reaction to learning that Feng's lieutenants areindeed his younger siblings.
Thanks for reading and I promise to be back with a new update soon!
Thanks again and remember...
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