Chapter Ten-The Siren's Gem Revealed
Jien smiled. "I see, you've figure it out."
"I've figured out that there's something weird about this Siren's Gem." Shifu replied. "For example, how is it that nobody knows what it is except you and Jiao-long?"
Jien chuckled lightly. "I know you're smarter than that, Shifu."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Junjie demanded.
Jien only smiled.
Jiao-long sat at his desk, looking over the prophecy. He had been reading it over and over again.
"'The one chosen by his devil will rise once more to destroy China himself.
His armies are so strong he won't lose
The warriors of the palace will come and fall to this threat
The one that decides the winner is the Siren's Gem.'" He read. He rubbed his face. "'His devil'? I wasn't chosen by any devil, unless you count my master. If the warriors of the palace are supposed to fall, why can't I kill them so easily?" Jiao-long shook his head. "It shouldn't matter. The winner is to be decided based on the Siren's Gem, which is in my possession." Jiao-long set the prophecy down. "Still….." He stood and walked to the window, staring outside. The fading sunlight cast long shadows, one of them belonging to a tower in the center of the castle. Jiao-long stared at the shadow, imagining its owner and its occupant. The Siren's Gem has power his machine with such a force that he has been unstoppable. But something seemed out of place. The Siren's Gem has been acting differently. Its power is…..fading? Is that possible? But how?
Jiao-long growled and leaned on the windowsill. He wouldn't be so confused if the soothsayer was still around. He could tell him why the Siren's Gem was failing.
"Think about it." Jien told the masters. "Surely Chao told you about how he found me, no? Otherwise, how could you know about me?"
Shifu stared at the floor. "He told me, yes."
"What can you remember?" Jien asked.
Shifu searched his memories. "He told me about the prophecy you gave to Jiao-long. But….." Shifu's eyes narrowed. "But you wrote it in another language and they had to translate it." His eyes widened. "The translator didn't understand what it meant….."
"Because…." Jien asked.
"Because he must've translated it wrong!" Shifu realized.
Jiao-long walked back to his desk. He took out his sword and started practicing. As he did, he imagined his enemies falling and the Siren's Gem wiping them out. He smiled triumphantly. There isn't any possible way the Gem would fail him.
He had leverage.
Jien nodded. "Very good. So what does that mean?"
Shifu stood and grabbed the translated prophecy Chao took from his bag. He read it over. "Ok, so maybe that translator simply mixed up a few words. What language did you write the prophecy in?"
"That translator may be fluent in over a hundred languages, but he wasn't fluent in a dead language." Jien pulled out a piece of paper from his pants. "I wrote it in a type of Eurasian text I learned in Indonesia."
"I've been there!" Fenghuang said. "I lived there for a few years."
"You think you can read this?" Junjie asked, pointing to the prophecy.
"I can try." Fenghuang nodded. Shifu placed the prophecies side by side and Fenghuang looked over the original text. After a minute of reading, her eyes widened. "That's not possible."
"I believe Master Oogway once said that nothing is impossible." Jien noted. "Were you not one of his students?"
"But that can't be!" Fenghuang cried. She looked fearful. "She's just a child!"
"Not so much anymore." Jien shrugged.
"You don't know her like I do!" Fenghuang hissed. "And certainly not like they do!" She pointed towards Junjie and Shifu.
"Know who, Fenghuang?" Junjie asked. Fenghuang turned to him and sighed, clearly shaken.
Jiao-long continued his sword practice for a few minutes before putting away his sword. He moved on to practice his kung fu. He kicked, punched, and swiped his claws at invisible opponents. The thought of wiping out his enemies made a lust for blood grow in his chest. The lust grew and grew until all Jiao-long could think about was spilling their blood on the ground. Oh what a beautiful beginning to his reign. There was going to be a whole new Year of the Dragon that people far and wide will talk about. China will respect and obey him or die. But is it better to be feared or loved?
Jiao-long spun around and sent a blast of chi into the fireplace. The flames swelled and shot out of the chimney.
Oh yes. It was better to be feared. Those who fear you won't be brave enough to oppose you.
Jiao-long straightened and tenderly touched the wounds on his face from Jien's scratches. "I hate cats….." he muttered. Still, the scar would look very menacing.
Suddenly, a guard burst into the room. "Sir! The Siren's Gem is gone!"
Jiao-long's eyes widened. "What?"
"We're in pursuit, sir!" the guard said. "But she's going insane! I think she's sleepwalking!"
Jiao-long calmed down. He had been through this before. He pushed past the guard and ran down the hallway. He followed the sounds of his guards shouting and a girl screaming. He found a large group of his guards surrounding the screaming girl, who kept launching lightning bolts, fireballs, and anything else she could pull from thin air. Jiao-long calmly walked past his guards and stared at the Siren's Gem.
"Be still!" he shouted.
The chaos ceased instantly. Jiao-long walked up and knelt down next to the Siren's Gem, laying a hand on it. "It's alright. You're safe."
"Fenghuang, I don't understand." Shifu shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
"The prophecy is wrong!" Fenghuang snapped. She turned towards the door, but Shifu and Junjie held her back.
"Where are you going?" Junjie asked.
"I'm going to tear Jiao-long limb from limb!" Fenghuang hissed. "He won't get away with this!"
"Get away with what?" Shifu gave a hard tug and threw Fenghuang back. "What are you talking about?"
"Fenghuang." Jien said calmly. The Eurasian owl turned to the lynx. "Tell them what the prophecy really says."
Fenghuang sighed and walked up to the prophecy. Junjie and Shifu stood with her. Their eyes widened in shock and realization when she read the prophecy. Jien could only smile, knowing that Oogway's prediction had finally come true. The members of the Tri-Dragon of Death were stricken with a memory that had been buried deep into their brains.
"'The one chosen by his master will rise once more to take China for himself.
His armies are so large that he cannot be defeated so easily.
The warriors of the land must band together to take on this threat and vanquish it.
The one who will decide the victor is a human by the name of Siren Jin.'"