A/N: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of its characters, locations, etc. I only own my OC's.
Yey! 350 reviews! WOOHOO! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
I told you readers, I'd update soon!
Déshí means "Virtuous Man" in Chinese.
This chapter has a different format compared to my other flashback chapters. Just so that you readers don't get confused: Italicized sections occur in the present with Cong and Rui as they make little comments throughout the story. Everything else is flashback.
**Warning! This chapter contains intense battle sequences, violence, blood, and character deaths! Read at your own risk!**
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
True Colors
Rui walked down the crowded, snow laden street with his wife's arm wrapped around his own. They both marveled at the overhanging lanterns and the light falling snow that sprinkled about like confetti. Scores of people were flocking to the nearby stands of each booth, either making purchases or participating in games. Mei leaned her head against her husband's shoulder as she listened to the musicians playing a familiar tune.
"They're playing our song." She said with a smile, and Rui could only guess what was coming next.
"You know how terrible I am at dancing." He stated.
"You really think that matters to me?" She asked as she gazed towards him with her honey colored eyes. Rui smiled as Mei pulled him in the direction where a group of townsfolk were dancing. She coaxed one of Rui's hands towards her waist while she intertwined her fingers with his other. She then placed her other hand atop his shoulder and they had barely started a slow dance when they caught sight of their ten year old son making his way towards them; his small arms filled with prizes and sweets.
"Mama! Baba!" The boy exclaimed as he came to a halt in front of his parents. "I won! I won!"
"That's great sweetie." Mei congratulated her son.
"Good work kiddo." Rui said as he gave the boy a pat on his head.
Xue gave each of them a wide smile then he suddenly noticed that they were standing right in the middle of the dance floor. He eyed his parents suspiciously. "What are you two doing?"
Rui gave his son a sly smile, "What does it look like we're doing?"
"Are you two dancing? In Public?" Xue asked, clearly taken aback.
"You can watch if you'd like." Mei said.
"We're just going to be telling each other how much we love each other, right Mei?"
"GROSS!" Xue turned and bolted away as if his life depended on it.
Mei turned towards her husband. "Did you really have to frighten him so?" She asked with a smirk.
Rui shrugged his shoulders, "When he's older, he won't mind." He gave a small chuckle.
"I really don't see where this is all going." Cong protested, "When are you going to get to the good stuff?"
"I'm getting there." Rui answered, slightly annoyed by the mountain cat's impatience. "The Winter Festival was going on like it had any other year. The music, dancing, games. All was peaceful, all was normal…" Rui's voice trailed off and Cong watched the old raccoon intently. "It should have been a happy time, but then…"
A sudden scream rattled the air and Rui's head snapped upwards to see a falling figure descending rapidly towards the crowd.
"He's going to crash!" Someone shouted as multiple people gasped and pointed towards the falling bird. Rui instantly leapt into action. He ran forward towards a building, jumped, and kicked off of its stone surface. Leaping high into the air, Rui managed to catch the falling bird before the pair of them landed in a large cart full of straw. Well that was certainly convenient. Rui picked up the seemingly unconscious goose and leapt from the cart. It was only after he had set the goose down on solid ground that he noticed an arrow protruding from the bird's chest.
"Hu!"
Rui gazed upwards towards his wife as she quickly made her way towards the pair of them. She skidded to a halt next to them and gently lifted the goose's head in her small hand. "He is the messenger of General Feng's household!" Mei exclaimed as a crowd began to gather around the injured goose. Mei gently shook Hu's shoulder before the goose's eyes fluttered open.
"Hu, it's me Mei, what happened? Who did this to you?" Mei asked frantically as the bird struggled to keep breathing. He looked up towards Rui with a glazed look in his eye and the raccoon could instantly tell that Hu was past the point of saving. The goose beckoned him closer with his wing and Rui placed his ear within an inch of Hu's beak. His voice was barely a whisper.
"Under attack…Shadow Dragons…send help…" The goose gave a final shuddering gasp before going completely limp on the pavement.
Mei gave a horrified cry and tears began to swell in her eyes. Rui closed the bird's eyes before removing the arrow. He examined the tip, instantly recognizing the obsidian stone that the Shadow Dragons were famous for using. His eyes narrowed as he removed the cloak he had been wearing and draped it over Hu's body, shielding it from the view of the panicking crowd.
He then stood up and turned towards a nearby soldier, "Alert Captain Qiang and the rest of our forces. General Feng is in need of our help. I will go on ahead and help in any way I can until you arrive."
"Yes Master Rui!"
Mei's eyes widened towards her husband's statement as the soldier bowed and ran off through the crowd. "Rui, you'll be all alone! You must wait for reinforcements!"
"The longer I wait, the less time Feng might have, I must go." Rui pulled her into his arms, and he whispered into her ear, "You forget who trained me."
Mei buried her face into his shoulder before planting a kiss on his lips. "If you don't come back, I'll kill you."
"Well when you put it that way, I guess I don't have a choice." He gave her a small smile. "Don't forget to tell Xue that he has early training with me tomorrow." Rui said as he turned and ran through the crowd towards the snow covered mountain; leaving his wife to gaze on after him until he was lost from her sight.
"It was the last time I ever saw my beloved Mei, or my son. I only wish I could have said more, could have stayed longer. Had I known what would have happened, that I would never see them again, I would have waited just long enough for my students to arrive. But it didn't go down that way. Nor could I have ever predicted what came next…"
Rui sprinted up the worn, frozen path towards General Feng's mansion. He had been running for five miles straight through the deep snow, and he still had a couple more to go. Even from this distance, he could see the glowing orange of the fires quickly engulfing the upper floors of the house. He put on another burst of speed, placing a hand on the hilt of his Dao sword. The raccoon darted up a tree, hopping from one branch to the next as he neared the mansion.
He rushed to the edge of the forest to find the building surrounded by black clothed assassins. Shadow Dragons! They were shooting flaming arrows into the windows of the mansion while others were storming in through the front door. Rui ran to the end of the branch and it bent slightly under his weight.
He jumped, allowing the whiplash of the branch to shoot him high over the assailants. Some of them caught sight of him and they aimed their arrows towards him. Rui managed to smash through an upper window, rolling across the ornate woolen rug, and instantly taking cover behind a wardrobe as a volley of arrows followed him from behind. As soon as the arrows had ceased, Rui ran for the door, throwing it open and darting out into the hallway. Smoke filled his lungs as the fires spread throughout the house and he quickly made his way towards the stairs.
Leaping onto the railings of the stairway, Rui glided down the spiraling steps to the lower levels of the house, catching glimpses of spreading fires as he went. He slid down to the main floor, leaping off of the railings and delivering a flying kick to a large snow leopard that was about to strike a killing blow on a south china tiger. The elder striped feline's fiery eyes widened at the raccoon's arrival as he got back up to his feet.
"Rui!" Feng exclaimed upon seeing his brother in arms. "'Bout time you showed up!"
"Good to see you too Feng! But I can't say the same thing about your house guests!" Rui stated as he dodged an attack from a black clothed fox. "Hu managed to deliver your message to me; my men are on their way!"
"Let us hope we can hold out until then!" The tiger snarled as he grabbed the snow leopard by the scruff of his neck and threw him into the opposite wall.
Rui stole a glance to the far side of the immense room to see Feng's son-in-law, Kuò, fighting off a group of boars. Behind him, he could see Feng's daughter, Lady Hua backed up into a corner with a tiny blue bundle in her arms.
"There're too many of them!" Feng said as more assassins pushed their way towards them. He turned to Kuò, "Get out of here! Get them to safety!"
"We'll hold them off!" Rui added as he and Feng covered Kuò's and Hua's escape. Kuò wrapped a protective arm around his wife and escorted her up the stairs. Once they were safely up, Rui returned his attention to the assassins. He brandished his sword, and together he and Feng charged at the oncoming horde. Rui jumped and sprang off of Feng's shoulders, bringing his sword down hard atop the skull of a rhino. Feng lashed out with his claws, raking the belly of a wolf. They both fought with matched fury against the assailants, bringing each of them down with lethal strikes, while the wooden floorboards became stained with red sickly liquid. However with each foe they defeated, three more took their place.
"Blast these Shadow Dragons!" Rui cursed under his breath as he struck a killing blow on a crocodile. He turned towards Feng, "I'm sure Qiang will be here any minute!"
Feng snarled as he stood over the lifeless body of another snow leopard, "Qiang is the cause of all this!" He roared, and he lunged forward, ripping out the throat of an ox.
Rui stared uncertainly towards his friend, how could Qiang be the cause of this? He was their ally. Suddenly, an arrow out of nowhere went flying towards Feng. But he was too preoccupied with another snow leopard to take any notice.
"FENG!"
The arrow met its mark and the south china tiger stopped his assault. He stared with wide, disbelieving eyes towards the arrow protruding from his chest. Two more arrows embedded themselves deep into Feng's torso before he finally collapsed to the ground with a thud. Rui immediately sprinted towards the fallen tiger, plowing through the horde of assassins as he did so. He skidded to a halt next to Feng who was barely breathing. The dying elder tiger made eye contact with Rui, and the raccoon had to lean forward to hear his last words. "Save…my…family…"
"I didn't only lose a fellow comrade that day, I lost a brother." The elderly raccoon took a deep breath as the memory flowed through him like a nightmare. Cong watched as sadness etched itself upon Rui's face. The mountain cat had so many questions already, but he stayed silent as he didn't want to interrupt. "But by the end of the night, I would have lost two…"
Rui darted up the stairs, the assassins close on his ringed tail. He wouldn't allow them to reach Kuò, Hua, or their daughter. He fought the urge to cough as the smoke from the fires continued to build. "Kuò! Hua!" Rui shouted over the roaring flames, "Where are you?" The raccoon darted down the hallway and only barely managed to dodge a falling beam from the ceiling.
He rushed around a corner to see Kuò fighting some Shadow Dragons that had climbed through some of the upper windows of the mansion. The young tiger stabbed and sliced with his sword at the oncoming horde as more and more assassins practically spilled in through the windows. Rui sprinted forward, covering Kuò from behind. The feline turned in his direction once he caught sight of the raccoon. "Master Rui! Where's Feng?"
"Dead!" Rui grimly answered.
Kuò's fiery green eyes widened suddenly then narrowed as he snarled with frustration. He vented his anger towards a boar whose neck was snapped in two by the tiger's powerful blow.
"Where are Hua and Jìn?" Rui shouted over the roar of the flames that surrounded them.
Kuò nodded his head to one of the side doors. "You get them out! I'll cover you!"
Rui would have had it the other way around, but now wasn't the time to argue. He already knew that when a tiger made up their mind, it was nearly impossible for anyone to convince them otherwise as they were extremely stubborn. The raccoon sheathed his blood stained Dao sword and darted past Kuò. He leapt over the heads of oncoming assassins as he made his way to the back room where Hua was hidden. He kicked at a pillar, causing it to crash down behind him so that the assassins couldn't follow and he slipped into the room. Immediately, he was met by a feral snarl from the mother south china tigress as she crouched protectively in front of her daughter's crib. Of course once she saw that it was Rui, she immediately stopped and stood to face him.
"My Lady," Rui stated with a slight bow, "we must make haste!"
She nodded and turned to pick up her cub from her crib. The child stared with wide amber eyes as she lifted her tiny paws towards her mother. However before Hua could even touch her baby the nearby window burst open, revealing a trio of Shadow Dragons.
Rui rushed forward with his sword unsheathed, ready to defend Hua and her daughter. But he did not see it when a javelin sprang from the paw of the black wolf.
Searing pain ripped through the raccoon's body as the javelin ran clean through his left shoulder. He could feel bones breaking, muscles tearing, and tendons snapping from the impact. Rui screamed in pain and dropped his sword as the force of the blow shot him backwards, pinning him to the wall, and leaving him dangling a few feet from the ground.
"MASTER RUI!" Hua screamed.
Rui gritted his teeth as fresh blood began to seep from his wound. He tried to pull himself free, but it was no use. He opened his brown eyes towards Hua, "R—Run!"
Hua turned towards the crib, her paws reaching for her child. Suddenly a small, black clothed figure jumped at her from behind, landing on the female tiger's shoulders. The small creature grabbed onto her ear with his small hand while brandishing a black knife in the other.
Rui's eyes widened with terror, "NO!" The raccoon could do nothing but watch as the small animal reached his arm around Hua's neck before sliding the blade across her throat. The south china tigress gave a garbled gasp and the monster leapt from Hua's shoulders as her lifeless body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thump.
Tears immediately swelled in Rui's eyes as a pool of dark crimson grew beneath Hua's body. The fire in her wide, expressionless eyes, extinguished forever. He could hear the frightened whimpering of little Jìn as she cried from her crib; the infant's sobs were almost too painful to listen to.
Despite Rui's pain, he looked towards Hua's killer, wishing nothing more than to cut his head off. "You will pay for this!" Rui shouted as he glared towards the small cloaked figure with a murderous glare.
"You weren't supposed to be here Rui."
The raccoon's brown eyes widened. He knew that voice! He watched disbelievingly towards the small figure as he removed his hood and mask and turned to face him. Rui nearly stopped breathing. There standing before him, was a red panda. But this particular red panda had a good portion missing from his right ear and he stared towards Rui with the same steel blue eyes he shared with his brother.
Feng's words returned to Rui, "Qiang is the cause of all this!" Rui didn't want to believe it, yet here was the proof standing right in front of him with Hua's blood still fresh on the knife in his hand.
"Qiang—you—why?" Rui managed to say through clenched teeth.
Qiang simply looked at him with a blank expression across his face. The red panda then turned towards the crib where the young tiger cub was still crying for her mother. He leapt upwards, balancing himself on the wooden frame. Rui watched with wide eyes as Qiang thrust his hand down into the crib, grabbed the cub roughly by the scruff of her neck, and lifted her above his head. He brought the knife forward, ready to run the cub through.
Suddenly a paw lashed forward, catching Qiang's knife hand before he could deal the killing blow. "Wait Master!" The mountain cat said as he held the red panda's hand away from the baby.
Qiang turned and glared at the feline as the black wolf behind him growled. "What is the meaning of this Déshí?" Qiang scolded.
The mountain cat's brown ears lowered, "Surely you would not stain your blade with the blood of an innocent child!" Déshí stated as he held firm onto Qiang's hand, not willing to let go. "This was not in the plan!"
"The plan was to wipe out General Feng's household." Qiang stated.
"But the child? She is innocent!" The mountain cat exclaimed.
"I'll be doing this world a favor!" Qiang retaliated, "The last thing it needs is another worthless girl!" He paused for a moment as he looked upon the terrified cub who had tucked herself into a tiny ball out of fear. He then looked towards Déshí, "But if you're so self-conscious about me killing an infant," Qiang thrust the crying child into the mountain cat's arms, "do it yourself!"
The feline stared with wide green eyes towards his master, "I…I—"
"Drown her in the river!" Qiang ordered.
"No!" Rui shouted in desperation.
Qiang ignored the raccoon, "Do it! Now!"
Déshí hesitated a moment before bowing and leaping for the window with Hua's daughter tucked in the crook of his arm. He was there for only a moment before he disappeared into the blackness of the cold wintry night.
Silence followed once the mountain cat had left and the only sounds that could be heard were those of the approaching fires out in the corridor. The black wolf turned towards his master with a slight growl in his voice as he spoke. "I don't trust him."
"Nor do I." Qiang answered as he stared out the window. He then turned towards Rui who was still pinned to the wall. "Get him down."
The wolf sneered with venomous icy blue eyes as he approached the wounded raccoon whose strength was ebbing away along with the blood that was practically staining the wall and drenching the whole left side of his body. The canine lifted a paw and pressed hard against Rui's chest as he grabbed the javelin with his other and yanked at it hard.
A new wave of pain washed through Rui's body as he collapsed to the ground in a heap. He tried to lift himself up, but his left arm refused to move and it lay completely lifeless by his side. He turned his head ever so slightly to look out into the blazing corridor to see Kuò's body lying on the ground amongst the many fallen corpses of Shadow Dragons that the tiger had managed to cut down before being slain. Rui's eyes closed in shame. Forgive me Feng…he thought to himself. I tried to save them…I tried...
Rui's ear perked towards Qiang's voice as he addressed the wolf. "I want you to follow him," Qiang said, "Make sure he follows through with it. If he doesn't, kill them both."
Rui looked up just in time to see the black clothed wolf darting out the window. The raccoon's heavy brown eyes first fell upon Qiang, then towards his fallen sword on the ground. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to push his weakened body from the floor. His good arm trembled beneath his own weight and he finally managed to make it to his feet.
He fumbled for the hilt of his sword and grasped it tightly in his hand, and despite his weakened state, he silently began making his way towards Qiang. He had trained enough times with Qiang, Shifu, and Jia to know how powerful the hearing of a red panda could be, but thankfully the noises of the burning building as it began to collapse around them were drowning out the raccoon's labored footsteps.
Fiery rage grew inside of Rui like the inferno around him as he closed in on his target. The raccoon didn't care if he lived or died this night, Qiang was going to pay with his blood for what he had done to Feng's family; and Rui was going to be the one to spill it. He raised his sword above his head, ready to strike the red panda down.
"Master! Behind you!" One of the Shadow Dragons shouted from the flaming hallway and Qiang turned just as Rui brought down the sword. Rui knew that the blade had made contact when Qiang cried out in pain, and he was about to make another blow when he was hit from behind. The raccoon flew through the air, dropping his sword in the process. He crashed against the wall and landed with a thud next to Hua's body. He lay there, completely broken and battered. There was no fight left in him. He cracked an eyelid open to see that Qiang was pressing his hands against the fresh vertical cut across his left eye, while many of his followers surrounded him, giving him worried looks.
Rui caught a glint of gold in the corner of his eye and he looked to see that the golden locket that Hua had been wearing was now lying on the ground next to him. He could clearly see where the thin chain had been cut by Qiang's knife and the little bits of Hua's blood that were clinging to it. He unconsciously reached his right hand forward and managed to curl his fingers around the locket, grasping it tightly in his hand.
"Let me kill him Master!" Rui heard one of the assassins address Qiang. "He will suffer greatly for harming you!"
Rui didn't even hear Qiang's response as the blood loss finally took its toll on him, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
"When I woke up, I found myself in that cell." The elderly raccoon stated and he gave an involuntary shudder from the memory. "My arm had been bandaged up, but it was completely useless; still is." Rui then pulled at the folds of his medical robes around his neck, and Cong gasped at the sight of the raccoon's horribly mangled left shoulder. He could clearly see the long, jagged scar where the javelin had struck him. "Thankfully the doctor hasn't asked too many questions about it yet." The old man stated. After Rui had hidden his wounded shoulder from the view of the mountain cat, he then proceeded to reaching his right hand beneath his pillow. Cong caught a glint of gold as Rui pulled at a small chain, followed by the golden locket which was still attached to it.
"How did you manage to keep a hold onto that?" Cong asked in surprise.
"Hua's blood had cemented my fingers closed around it while I was unconscious." Rui answered. "Apparently, Qiang did not want to risk anyone breaking my fingers if they tried to remove it."
"Why?" Cong gave him a curious look. "He certainly had no trouble imprisoning you in that cell; what was your life, let alone a few broken fingers worth to him? Why did he spare you?"
"Simple, he spared me because of our past friendship. Despite all he had done in the name of the Shadow Dragons, I don't think that he had the nerve to kill me." His eyes softened as he looked down towards the locket in his tiny hand. "This was the only thing he allowed me to keep…and not a day goes by when I don't think back on that night. I've always asked myself how I could have stopped it, and how I could have been so blind towards Qiang's true colors. But one week after my imprisonment there, I finally was able to put the pieces together…"
Rui's heavy eyes opened as the morning sunlight filtered through the bars of the window above his head, and with some difficulty he managed to push himself into a sitting position. He groaned as he sat up, his body still aching from his wounds. A wisp of ghostly vapor escaped his lips as he exhaled into the chilling wintry air from outside, and he wrapped his good arm around himself in an attempt to stay warm.
"Good, you're awake."
The raccoon's head snapped upwards towards the one person he hated more than anyone else as the red panda stood just beyond the iron bars of his cell. He stood tall and straight with his small hands folded behind his back, but also with the addition of a bandage that ran around his head and across his left eye, no doubt the result of Rui's attempt to kill him.
"You've got some serious nerve showing up here!" Rui scowled as his brown eyes glared into the steel blue eye of his enemy.
Qiang didn't answer; instead he just stared towards the imprisoned raccoon, unmoving and silent. Rui hated it when he became this silent; it usually meant that something was on the red panda's mind, something that he wanted to talk about. But Rui wasn't exactly in the listening mood, especially with him.
Rui continued to glare at Qiang before he finally lost it, "How could you Qiang? Feng was as much of a friend to you as he was to the both of us!" His voice rose with every statement. "Why did you have his entire family slaughtered? What have you gained by killing them?"
"Silence."
"I'm not finished!"
"No," Qiang responded, "I meant that I gained silence from him; had he lived he would have blabbed to the villagers of my involvement with the Shadow Dragons, it would have ruined my public reputation." He paused before continuing, "It's actually quite interesting how he found out about it."
"And that would be?" Rui scowled.
Qiang gave a small chuckle as he pulled a polished wooden box with golden trimmings out from behind his back. It was fairly long and skinny, and looked as if a flute would be able to fit snugly inside. "We were practicing archery with some of the students a few days before the attack. Feng was supervising while I demonstrated to the other young ones on how to properly shoot one. I hadn't even realized something that he was able to pick up, and that was the kinds of arrows I used."
Rui raised an eyebrow as Qiang opened the small box and turned it towards the raccoon so he could see. It wasn't a flute as Rui had suspected, but an arrow that sat inside the cushioned holding. It looked slightly worn with age but the tip still looked as sharp as ever. Rui could immediately see that this arrow had been used, because old specks of dried blood were still clinging to its surface.
Two silver bands of worn paint wrapped around the shaft near the tip and Rui suddenly remembered that during the war, Qiang had personalized his arrows so that he could find them after each battle; whether they had made their mark or not. The two bands of painted silver indicated that the arrow belonged to him.
Qiang gave a small chuckle, "Feng has kept this arrow since the later days of the war; I remember him saying that if he ever found the one who killed Zhuang, he would bring them to justice." The red panda smirked, "And I couldn't have that."
Rui's eyes widened as realization struck at him like a round house kick to the gut. He stared disbelieving towards Qiang. "It—it was you…" Rui said, completely horrified. "You killed General Zhuang? Your own father?"
"Guilty." Qiang said without the slightest hint of remorse; he actually sounded as if he were proud of it. He gave a sneer as he closed the case shut and placed it on the ground next to the door. "Besides, he and Feng were trouble for me ever since Feng arrived to fight in the war."
"How?"
"Oh please," Qiang rolled his eye as if Rui had asked a foolish question, "he may have treated us like we were his equals, but he practically stamped us beneath his feet once my father made him his successor."
"That's not true!" Rui shouted, "Feng was ten times the man than either of us combined!"
"We were supposed to be his superiors!" Qiang retorted, "We were both fighting in the war long before he arrived! And yet my father had the audacity to promote him when we deserved it more!"
"Feng was the best choice!" Rui countered. "He was a genius at battle strategies; he planned things out, unlike you who would rush into battle without a care about your fellows! Your reckless behavior nearly cost you your life a dozen times over! Feng himself had to bail you out on several occasions! Or have you forgotten?"
Qiang scowled towards the raccoon's statement. "What's done is done."
"Far from it!" Rui shouted as he staggered to his feet and stood before the red panda. "I swear Qiang, if it's the last thing I do, I will bring you to justice for the murder of General Shao Zhuang, the slaughter of Feng and his family, and your crimes as the leader of the Shadow Dragons!"
"And how do you plan to do that while you're in there and I'm out here?" Qiang asked with a slightly amused tone. Rui's eyes narrowed towards the red panda who shook his head. "Don't get me wrong Rui, I have no doubt in your abilities to escape this cell, but you might want to think about what you're risking."
"Like what?" Rui said between clenched teeth.
"Why, the welfare of your wife and son for example."
Rui's eyes widened with shock at Qiang's statement as the red panda gave a slight chuckle. The raccoon then gave Qiang an icy glare as he clenched his fist tightly around the encased locket in his small hand, "You stay away from them!"
"Oh believe me Rui; I have no intention of harming them; that decision lies entirely with you."
The raccoon gave him a curious look as Qiang continued, "Like Feng, I need silence from you as well."
"So you're going to kill me too?" Rui glared.
"I don't think so, how then could I ever face Mei or Xue with a clear conscience?"
"Well, you've certainly had no trouble deceiving Shifu about the death of Zhuang!"
"Except there's a difference; Zhuang deserved to die, you didn't." Qiang paused before he continued, "You never wronged me like my father did, you were my friend, and for that I've spared you. But I've worked too hard and too long to finally receive the respect that I've so long been denied, and I will never play second fiddle to anyone ever again!"
Rui clenched his jaw in frustration, "So after all this time, you've still hungered for power that was never yours to have? First with Zhuang, then Shifu, and now Feng?"
"Power that should have been mine from the beginning!" Qiang retorted, "And now that you and Feng are out of the picture, I suppose that now makes me in charge of the Military Training Academy; and to a certain extent, in charge of the city." Qiang then turned on his heels, retrieved the arrow casing, and began making his way out the door. But before closing it behind him, he turned his gaze to Rui, "Now you stay here and be a good prisoner, otherwise Mei and Xue will join Feng and his family."
The door slammed shut with an echoing bang, and Rui was left alone once again in the lowly chamber. His whole body was shaking, not because of the cold, but out of pure fury and rage. He clenched his hand around the one thing that was left to him before he roared out in anger; his voice echoing off of the stone walls.
"QIANG!"
A/N: This is what happens when you type a chapter four months in advance: you get ten and a half pages of single-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman violence, drama, betrayal, and action! This is by far, the LONGEST chapter yet! It took me FOREVER to get the dialogue right, phew!
OH-MY-HOLY-GOODNESS! MAJOR FILLER CHAPTER! Hope it wasn't too overbearing for you readers. But it had to be told one way or another. I just couldn't split this chapter into two or three! That would be just plain TORTURE!
*I would like to make a special request to those of you who like to leave me reviews: Will you guys PLEASE write thorough reviews? I gave you this epic chapter, I should get something more than "This story is great." PLEASE let me know what you liked about this chapter, or what part really stood out to you. Write what you think will happen in upcoming chapters, or what you hope will happen!
Now everyone, repeat after me! *Ahem* "CURSE YOU QIANG!"