"Yes master."
Tigress turned and walked away. She'd seen him angry countless times before but what she'd just witnessed had been outrageous.
She shook her head. It wasn't her concern what her master chose to do. If he felt it was necessary to berate his former friend, then she couldn't argue the point with him. She wouldn't say anything.
She continued to walk until she found a small pool. Po was sipping water into his mouth through a makeshift straw made of bamboo while Mantis was hanging out on a lily pad.
"Master Shifu says we need to get going," she called.
"Okay, coming," Mantis called in reply. The little green dude hopped off his comfortable perch and back onto dry land. Po lazily tossed his straw aside. Tigress turned around and began leading the way back to the main path while the other two followed.
"Did they stop fighting?" Po asked her.
Tigress paused and then continued walking.
"Yes," she told him. It wasn't a lie, technically. And she certainly didn't want to be the one to tell her fanboy friend what had happened to his favorite 'couple'. In little time they reached Master Shifu who, instead of addressing them, continued down the path. He kept ahead so that he could attempt to avoid conversation but-
"Shifu?"
-things don't always work out the way we want them to.
"What is it Po?"
"Where'd Taia go? Is she looking for food, or getting rid of some more bandits or something?"
"No."
"Oh... Well, um, where is she then?"
He sighed and stopped. He turned to look the panda in the eyes and felt bad for the innocent minded warrior; he most certainly wasn't going to take this well.
"She went home."
Po's nonexistent eyebrows crinkled in confusion.
"What do you mean? She just left?"
"Yes. Now, quit worrying about such trivial facts. We're behind schedule as it is."
Again, Shifu didn't bother to talk and instead turned around and marched forward at a fast pace.
Po stood there in a catatonic state. Mantis poked him and he still didn't move. Tigress stared at him, waiting.
Then it happened.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WENT HOME?" Po shouted and ran after his master. "She couldn't have just got up and left! You yelled at her didn't you! You yelled and told her to leave! How could you do that? She cared about you a lot and you just-
"Shut. Up."
The Grandmaster turned around as he said this, staring Po down, making the poor panda feel very vulnerable.
"It was her choice to leave. It's not my fault. She chose and I had to respect that choice. Now I'll thank you to kindly leave the matter alone for once. It's about time you just stayed out of things that don't concern you!"
"What? But I- I mean I, just I-
"How stupid do you think I am? It was you who did that whole 'wedding' thing. It was you who made sure that Taia and I kept ending up alone. It was you who made the two of us meet again in the first place! Everything that's gone wrong here is your fault!"
Po's jaw tightened and he looked at the ground. He knew that he was responsible for most of things Shifu was saying. Did that mean that Taia's absence was his fault?
"Stop it."
Po and Shifu looked to where Tigress stood, glaring at her master.
"Stop blaming Po for this. He might have been meddling during the trip, but he just did that because he wanted to make the two of you happy. You were the one who yelled at her and drove her off. You were the one who was acting like a child would! Master Shifu, forgive me, but you need to hear this. You may have inner peace, but that doesn't fix everything that's wrong. It can't change the fact that you still have problems; only you can change that. And you haven't. Not yet at least."
Tigress looked away from him, so that her words could hopefully sink into his thick head.
"Come on guys. We have a stone to deliver."
For the second time that day, Shifu watched as a woman walked away from him, leaving him feeling stupid, humiliated, and immature. Po and Mantis followed, avoiding eye contact with him. They still didn't know the whole story, but the two had a feeling that they should be mad at him.
Due to the trees being thick up ahead, it wasn't very long before his students were out of sight. He opened his mouth wide and breathed in deeply to calm himself. Then he folded his hands behind his back, hung his head and pinned back his ears. The Walk of Shame. It'd been a while since he'd walked this way; after he'd found inner peace he'd stood taller, straighter, with his head held high, facing the world. But now he didn't feel the way he had that day. Instead of feeling like he was free, he felt like a world's worth of weight was on him. And who did he have to blame? Why himself of course! And this time no one could even argue the point. It was his hidden insecurities which he had suppressed and then released that had come back to bite him in the ass.
He let out a stiff sigh. He had a feeling he was going to be given the cold shoulder at the palace for a while. That was fine. What did he care? He didn't care about anything.
…
She walked through the forest using her knife to slice the leaves and branches out of her way.
Stupid Shifu! Stupid Dragon Stone! Stupid everything! Wait, why am I saying this in my head?
"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STU! PID!"
With every cry of stupid she slashed more violently at the leaves. Why hadn't she just yelled at him and attacked him and hurt him? It would've been more satisfying that was for sure!
"But no! I just had to act like an adult! Since when do I do that?"
Ugh! It was all his fault! He always made her act weird! Now her delayed anger was beginning to bubble and froth. It felt as if she would explode!
"ARGH!" She shouted. She started slashing and kicking at everything in sight, half of her trying to hold her down while the other half was just so MAD.
Then the forest ended. It was like getting over a head cold. Tight congestion, followed by air that feels like heaven. She looked up and before her lay an endless field of grass. The moon lit it up beautifully. There were no trees in sight. It was perfect. She put one knee on the ground and reached her other leg behind her. She pressed her fingertips into the hard earth. She closed her eyes.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe…
Then she took off. It was like someone had set off a firework the way she zipped across the land at a speed that rivaled even Mantis.
She cleared her mind until it was nothing but a blank slate, focused on only running. Reaching a speed like this no longer caused her legs to burn. Instead it allowed her to experience the feeling of the wind whipping across her face while she kicked up dust behind her. Like she was almost flying.
She closed her eyes. And she smiled…
Then she tripped.
This, children, is why we do not run with our eyes closed.
She spat out the grit that gotten in her mouth when she'd fallen face first. Then she stood and turned to look at what had tripped her.
A long black thing lay on the ground. It looked like a dead snake.
"Eww…" Taia whispered. Most gross things didn't bother her but even she had limits. Tripping over a dead body reached those limits.
Well, she should probably bury him. It was the least she could do. That and try to figure out who he was. Not like it would be easy seeing as how snakes didn't exactly carry much identification.
Nonetheless, she leaned over and lifted his head carefully. She slid her hand under his jaw so that the head was cradled in her palm. The face looked exhausted but peaceful. Then she realized…
"Oh my… Deng?"
It was him. Her trusted spy and companion. He had always been sort of like an annoying little cousin to her. And now…
She closed her mouth and swallowed, closing her yes. She shook her head slowly. It couldn't be… Maybe it wasn't.
She opened her eyes and looked again. She slid one hand under and ran it along his underside, down his belly. This was Deng's most sensitive spot, something the kids had informed her after they'd given him a fair amount of tickle torture for stealing their pudding.
A tiny shiver ran through the ebony body. It wasn't too late. There was still a chance. If she only had enough time…
She carefully lifted his body. She looked around her and saw nothing but grass. No matter… Just as gently as she'd lifted him, she wrapped the long body around her own; she needed her arms to be free so that she could run more quickly. When she was positive that her patient was secure, she looked up. Where was it? Ah, there it was, the North Star...
Okay think… That's north and that's south, then east and west… The cave was there, the gorge there…
With a finger she quickly drew an invisible map in the air.
The town is that way, my thinking spot's there… The house. That direction. Now.
She faced it. And took off. Once again gliding over the land, her arms pumping at her sides. But now instead of being fueled by anger she was fueled with a sense of urgency. Her face had gone stony, her eyes fixed on her destination. Using her survival skills and memory, she had mentally pinpointed where exactly she was along with where the house, the gorge, and the cave were from where she was standing. With that knowledge she'd been able to figure out where the closest water source was.
And people say I'm dumb.
She willed her legs to go faster. She was going at a speed that she had never reached before now. And now her legs were beginning to scream and cry out for her to stop. But she couldn't let him die. She couldn't lose another person. She couldn't-
There it was. She skidded to a stop and collapsed to her knees at the edge of the pond. She carefully unwrapped the young snake from her body and laid him on the ground. She unhinged his mouth and scooped the water inside. She did it over and over again and splashed water across his body.
Come on buddy, come on buddy, come on buddy!
"Come on…" she whispered to him gently. "It's okay. It's all okay. You just need to open your eyes… Come on Deng. Just open your eyes… Open your eyes. Let me see that warrior in you. I know it's there. It's in all of us. Just show it…"
Taia ran her hand up and down his back, massaging the sore muscles.
"Come on…"
Her words registered in his mind, a tiny echo in a dull cavern. As she continued to speak to him gently, he words echoed louder and louder.
"Wake up… Wake up… Deng, come on!"
"Mmm," he mumbled.
Taia's breath caught in her chest and she froze.
The cobra's eyes slowly opened and slid into focus. He saw a pair of knees kneeling in front of him. His eyes traveled up until they met a pair of green ones.
"Tay? S'that you?"
She smiled. "It's me little guy," she soothed. "It's all okay now."
"Mm, not little."
"Whatever. Now let's just get you home okay?"
She carefully lifted him again, this time she didn't bother to run and instead started at an easy pace.
Deng's head rested on her shoulder, his eyelids still drooping. Then they snapped open.
"I just remembered," he said as loudly as he could manage. "My dad!"
Taia went from loving to business mode in an instant.
"What about him?"
"He's trying to take over China!"
"Damn! I hate it when this happens!"
She gets into a crouching position while Deng is still wrapped around her.
"Where is he?"
"He should still be at ho-OOOME!"
Before he could even finish his sentence the red panda lady took off again. Deng screamed as the wind slung his head back, leaving half of him tied to Taia and the other half flailing around behind her. If this wasn't such a dire situation, it would be somewhat funny.
"AUGH! AUGH! AUGH!"
Okay, it would be hilarious, but that's not important right now.
Taia dodged in and out of the trees, zipped down paths, pounded across bridges, and reached the gorge. She looked to the other side and took a split second to breathe.
How are you gonna do this?
"Please don't do what I think you're about to do," Deng whined.
Taia looked over the edge and inhaled deeply. Then she jumped.
It was like diving into a pool; straight down, fingers pointed, legs straight. With the changed point of view, it looked as if she was flying, her stomach a few feet from the ground. Then her legs curled to her chest and stretched downwards, allowing her to run down the wall. Then she jumped and straightened herself out running across the floor of the gorge. The ground began to crack and crumble beneath her and she just ran harder. The cracks caught up and, like the last time she was at the gorge, she started to fall. Shifu wasn't there to save her this time.
But she could save herself. And she did. She pushed her weight into the falling rock she was standing on, and launched herself up. Her hands grabbed the wall of the gorge and she dug her toes into the crumbling wall.
Come on Taia.
It was like a much larger prison wall. And just as easily, she scaled it, this time while carrying a body on her back. She reached the top and didn't even stop to breathe.
Come on Taia.
She ran through the forest past the fruit tree and through Khan's land. Then she reached the village and slowed. Half the buildings were nothing but piles of rubble. There were overturned carts, shattered clay pots, and stray frying pans.
He must have left already. But- That means- Oh no.
She took off again.
"What are you doing, the prison's that way," Deng shouted.
"And my kids are this way!"
Down the path, slap the spot on the rock wall, through the tunnel up the yard to- a pile of ashes and debris.
Deng slowly slithered off of her and to the ground. She stood next to him, the two of them in total silence.
It was gone. Demolished. Destroyed. Her house, her sister's house,the one that had sheltered everyone for all the years it had stood, had been burnt to the ground by She Du's army.
"Those," she started, her lips trembling. Her face became stony. "Bastards."
Deng just looked at it, shaking his head. He looked up at his friend. "I am so sorry! I should've been able to get you in time so that this wouldn't happen!"
She walked forward and waded through the ashes. She stepped over some of Ming's old frying pans, meaning she was in the kitchen. She walked over to where the swinging doors were supposed to be. The sitting room, where she found stray pieces of furniture. The washing room, where there were left over clothes, mostly burnt.
The red panda kicked at the ruins again. She turned and looked straight at Deng.
"That's it then. I'm going to kill your father."
Deng nodded. "I've been waiting a long time for you to say that."
…
His eyes slid open. Things were hazy and gradually came into focus. There was that damned snake again.
"She Du," he said flatly.
"Emperor. Or should I say, former Emperor?"
"As low as you've sunk in the past… I never would have believed that you could do this."
"You think this is bad? Let me explain something to you. I'm the reason you haven't been able to contact the other province leaders I'm the reason your wife is dying. I'm the one who planted that map. I'm the one who has made sure that any and all threats to myself were eradicated. And I am the one who is going kill you and take the throne."
"You're nothing more than a slimy, sniveling, little monster!"
"Deal with it."
…..
The cages were being dumped and the prisoners thrown into cells. Ming watched as everyone was either violently hurled into a cell or chained to one of the walls. Then she felt herself being lifted.
"HEY! Put me down!"
"Gladly," the rogue answered. He flung the rabbit lady into a cell. Her head hit the wall and she sank to the floor with her eyes half opened.
"Ha! Stupid peasants," he muttered.
Li watched the scene play out, horrified.
Finally the cages had been emptied. The rogues and guards slammed the door on their way out. Li looked at all of the miserable faces that surrounded her. It made her feel sick. Sick and sad and, and… Decrepit! Yeah that was the right word…
She sat down, leaned against the cell bars, and attempted to get comfortable. She found a stick and made a scratch on the floor, for day one. Tomorrow she'd add another, and the next day, another. That would help her keep track of the days and allow her to have one loose string tied to her sanity.
What? She could be dramatic sometimes…
…
Meanwhile, outside the palace walls, a certain someone was looking for a way to gain entrance. Lucky for him there was a back entrance that led to a courtyard, which was currently devoid of guards. This made it perfectly easy for him to walk in and enter the palace through kitchen. Thanks to his size he was able to slip under a table and out of any of the maids' sights. After a quick check to see if there was anyone facing the door, he scampered out from his hiding spot and out the door.
Okay, now where should I go to look for the dungeon?
"Hey, you looking for the dungeon?"
He looked up and for a moment he was sure that he had been spotted. He looked around and spotted a couple of felines of an unidentifiable species, who were currently engaging in casual conversation. The one that had asked the question was now providing directions.
"Thanks," the other cat said. "I thought I might go poke some fun at the prisoners, you know what I mean?"
"Completely! It's funny because they're locked up, and we're not!"
"Exactly!"
They laughed for a moment and then separated. Now he just needed to follow the genuine-humor-depraved furry to the dungeon; piece of cookie.
He ducked and hid behind pedestals and oversized vases to avoid being spotted as he tried to keep up. He hadn't gotten very far into the palace and already he had spotted at least three dozen rogue guards and strangers. They were breaking things, rearranging furniture, and harassing servants.
Jerks!
The furry led him down a long corridor, until he reached a small door. The feline slipped in and shut it. He scuffled over and opened the door for himself, trying to avoid any possible squeaking. He tiptoed down a spiraled stone staircase. When he reached the floor, he was met by a rank smelling dungeon filled to the brim with people.
His guide was currently poking a duck, who was unable to defend himself because he was hanging from handcuffs on the wall.
"Ha, ha, ha," the guy laughed, in a purposefully stupid fashion. "You're chained to a wall! How'd that happen? Ha, ha."
So he's using the old, 'I'm stupid and even I wouldn't do that' thing huh? Not very common, but still highly annoying. An excellent tactic; unfortunately it must be stopped! But what will the hero do?
He pondered this while the feline continued to use different styles of annoying and humiliating people. I'm afraid I can't tell you any of it. Some of you might use some of these techniques to your own personal advantages, monsters that you are.
He crept forward out of the shadows and found some stray rope on the floor. Silently he tiptoed forward. Some of the prisoners spotted him right away and at first were torn as to whether they should say something or just wait and watch. They decided on the latter.
That's right, just keep harassing people. Make things easy for me, that's it.
As luck would have it, the guy stayed turned around. This, unfortunately for him, resulted in him being tackled. Before he could even make the slightest of efforts to defend himself, his hands and feet were tied together.
"HEY! WHAT THE HECK?"
"Sorry mister, but you chose the wrong family to mess with!"
Li sat up straight, recognizing the voice of the rogue's attacker.
"Benji," she cried. "Is that you?"
"The one and only big sis!"
The young red panda strolled casually over to where his older sibling was being held captive. Li gave him a huge smile.
"Did you see how I took him down," he exclaimed.
"Dude, that was awesome! How'd you do it?"
"I just remembered some of Mom's moves! And I snuck in all quiet like… Right past all those jerks that are trying to destroy the place! Pretty neat, huh?"
"I'll admit it: you did pretty well for a twerp like yourself. But before we give you a commemorative plaque, we'd appreciate it if you could bust us out."
"Sure thing," he told her. He pulled out his pocket and slid it into the key hole moving it around.
Li raised an eyebrow. "What do you think you're doing? You can't pick a lock that way!"
"Well do you have any other tools to use?" Benji asked rudely.
"Well, maybe a key could possibly work," she snapped, making him roll his eyes because, as usual, she was right.
He looked around to see if the keys were hanging on the wall. However, unlike in most dungeons, they weren't hanging in a place where a person could just barely reach it, unless they had improvised tools. Benji turned to look at his prisoner who had been rolling around and swearing for a while now. He walked over to him and kicked him to get him to hold still.
"Alright now; we might be able to come to an agreement, but first you're gonna have to offer up some information." He said all of this, quoting what his mom told him happened in interrogations (at least sometimes).
"Sure, whatever brat," the captive spat back.
"Not to bother anybody," the duck who was being poked earlier interjected. "But that brat took you down pretty easily."
"He has a point," another guy mentioned.
"You fell like a sack of potatoes," one lady called.
A few more people felt it necessary to call out their personal opinions until it was getting pretty loud down there.
"Hey," Li called. "SHUT UP! Do you want somebody else to come down here and find out what's going on? Because I really don't think that you do!"
Everybody quiets down and lets Benji go on with his interrogation.
"Well, are you going to give me some answers or not? I need some keys, and I need 'em now!"
The furry glared up at him. Then he gave a sick smile.
"Alright I'll tell you. There's only one key to all of the cells in this place. And you're not going to get it."
"What makes you say that?"
The feline snickered cruelly. "Because the guy who currently has it in his possession is none other than Ban Lai. And believe me when I tell you this squirt: He doesn't like kids. He doesn't care how innocent they are. And he's killed grown men without a second thought, so what makes you think he'll treat you any better?"
Benji licked his dry lips and gritted his teeth.
"Because I don't need him to be nice to me. I'm smarter than him! Just you watch!"
He snickered again. "Sure thing pipsqueak. I'll be sure to pick out a special spot for your grave. By the pond maybe? Or perhaps we'll just stick you in the royal garden so those filthy worms can eat your body!"
Benji spat at the guy and used a spare piece of cloth to gag him. He turned to walk away but hear a little voice call his name.
"Benji!"
He turned to look who it was and saw Hope's little face poking out of a cell. He walked over to her.
"I knew you'd come back! You always do! Are you gonna save us?"
"I plan on it little sister. Now if you'll excuse me-
"Wait!"
"What?"
"You have to hug me goodbye first!"
He groaned. "What? Guys don't hug, especially not heroes!"
"I'll scream."
He quickly hugged her and headed to the staircase. The young nine year old turned to look at them all for another moment before he ascended the stone steps to the hopefully-not-squeaky door, where he exited.
In the hall again, he looked around, trying to figure out where one of the big bad guys would be hiding out. Probably not this close to the dungeons…
"BAN LAI!"
On second thought…
Benji quickly ducked into the shadows again as a figure walked past him. He identified him as a red panda, but because he was at an angle he couldn't get a clear look at his face. What he did get a look at though, was a thick iron key hanging from the sash on his waist. The stranger, quite possibly the Ban Lai he was looking for, continued down the hall until he reached a thick iron door. He yanked it open and stepped inside. Benji scuttled over quietly and got as close to the door as possible. He angled his ears so he could listen in.
"What's your problem, I was busy with something," a gravelly voice complained.
"Oh quit your bellyaching," another voice hissed. "You said you wanted to see this happen, so I was calling you in to watch!"
"Fine! I'm here! Go ahead and kill him!"
Kill him? Kill who?
Benji carefully turned and slid his head until one eye was able to see what was going on in the room. As of the moment there was a large lizard tied to a chair and the red panda was arguing with a snake.
"Well I can't do it now," the snake snapped at his companion. "You've thrown off my mood!"
"Would you shut up about your stupid mood? Killing doesn't have to be so dramatic and planned out like this, okay, its murder! It's easy! I could do it in my sleep, and knowing me I probably have!"
The red panda continued to speak, but now in a slimy, demented fashion.
"As you should know already," he said and paused to pull out a knife. He held the blade of the dagger close to the lizard's throat. "Life is such a delicate state… It's there one moment, and the next, poof!"
He motioned as if to slit the lizard's throat, causing the reptile to flinch.
"It's gone. Lost forever in the vast sea of existence… So She Du… Are you going to kill him and take your place as Emperor of China? Or are you going to stand there and wait? After the waiting that you've been doing all your life, can you honestly say that you can take anymore?"
The snake, who Benji now recognized as his mom's enemy, She Du, stared at the Emperor. He looked him up and down, doing what was thought to be looking for a weak spot. And then-
"Excuse me but 'stand there'? Talk about rude!"
Ban Lai groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why must you always be so sensitive?"
"Why must you always be so insensitive and forget the fact that I am without appendages? Honestly, a person starts to get tired of it after a while!"
Ban Lai shook his head. "Would you just freaking kill this guy already? If you don't, then I will!"
"Just try that you miserable coward!"
The red panda raised his dagger and lunged for the Emperor, only to be blocked and sent shooting backwards by She Du. Ban Lai crashed into the wall, upsetting a few shelves that's contents came spilling down on him. Soon he was surrounded by broken jars and dust. As he stood up to dust himself off, Benji just barely made out the sound of a small chink, like the sound a key makes when hitting a stone floor. Sure enough Benji looked and saw that the key had fallen from Ban Lai's sash.
Sweet! Now just don't kill that guy! That's the last thing I need in my nightmares!
"You know what? I'm tired of this crap!"
Ban Lai stormed out of the room followed by a teasing, unsympathetic snake.
Now's my chance!
The young boy crept in through the open door.
The Emperor's eyes immediately widened at the sight of a young red panda entering the room. He remained silent for fear that this could be a dream instead of a real rescue.
"Oh, uh, hi, uh, Emperor Sir," Benji stammered and bowed clumsily.
"Well it's official," the Komodo dragon said just above a whisper. "You're certainly real. You wouldn't happen to have a way of getting me out of here would you?"
"Well, uh, I've got a pocket knife. But first I've gotta get a key; it's important to keep our priorities in order. My aunt Ming told me that."
"She sounds smart."
"She is when she's not being a crab apple."
The Emperor chuckled as the boy sifted through the many layers of dust until he finally found the key. Benji held it above his head triumphantly.
"Ta da!"
"Excellent, young…"
"Benji, sir."
"Well, then, excellent job young Benji. Now that we have that out of the way, would you be so kind as to untie me?"
"Sure thing," Benji said and pulled out his pocket knife.
The Emperor looked at him quizzically. "Are you sure a boy your age should possess a weapon such as that one?"
Benji shrugged sheepishly as he knelt down to take care of the ropes binding his monarch's feet.
"Truth is I swiped it from my mom."
"I suspected as much. You'll have to return it to her later."
"I will. But for now I think I should undo your hands. What do you think?"
Benji stood up and waited for him to reply. But the reptile's face had gone ashen. Benji was about to ask why when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Instantly a shiver ran up his back. His breathing threatened to become irregular and his heart sped up. He slowly turned around to face the hands owner.
And that was when he saw it. The face of the monster. The face that haunted his nightmares that left him a sweating, sobbing mess.
His eyes and mouth widened in sheer terror. His lips trembled as he tried to form words and his knees knocked together. His entire body felt ice cold as he stared up into the bloodshot eyes.
This whole time the red panda standing before him had been gripping him by the shirt. At first the reaction of the kid seemed normal. But then he had looked closer. Then he saw…
Ban Lai grinned, showing his yellowed teeth. A small chuckle slipped past his tight lips.
"Hey there boy! Long time no see, eh?"
He chuckled again.
….
Okay, a show of hands and be honest now: Who would be scared? *raises hand*
I don't own Kung Fu Panda. And in a small way I'm happy about it. Can you imagine the pressure of having to top what they've already done? But enough talk… I must leave…
….