Heeeeyyyy!
SO! Remember when I said last time that I was almost done with the chapter?
...Yeah that didn't go according to plan...
This did, though! At least a little bit!
The Monkey Chain Gang found their current predicament...rather unsavory.
Thwy had plans. Very simple plans, but they were plans. Regain their lost honor, eventually regain their lost loot, and make Wu Kong pay. Short, simple, and to the point.
So imagine their immense surprise when they find that his younger brother Monkey far more formidable than Wu Kong ever was.
He was all over the place, keeping from primate to primate and kicking them across the face at multiple points. They tried to counter with kicks of their own, but he used his risk to throw them off balance, which left them open to a free jab across their faces. Occasionally, he would curve his tail and have it tightly wrap around one of them, before jumping about and using the poor simian as a weapon. Swinging around and causing the tail tied simian to crash into his comrades, until he lets go of them.
Needless to say, there was no positive thing to gather out of this experience, at least not for them.
"Man, I can see why Wu Kong decided to ditch you guys. You're not very bright are ya?" Monkey scratched his head.
"Why you...!"
"Sorry if this is humiliating, but I need to save my brother. And if that involves getting past you all, then that's what's gonna happen."
"There is ENOUGH stuff going on as it is!" Crane flapped his wings and lightly raised them as he stared down the vultures that were attempting to attack them. "We have to get to the others, as soon as we possibly can! Seriously had stuff is about to go down! You guys are gonna have to get out of our way!"
He flapped his wings as a gust of wind pushed against them. They panicked at the surprising might of the seemingly fail crane, before being thrown against the wall hard enough to crack them, before slumping to the ground, unconscious.
Mao Ren was holding something within his hand, and he was immediately coated with gold and jewelry. Mantis nearly flinched from the shine of said gold. "Dude, I don't know anyone who loves gold enough to literally turn into it!"
"That's the Kaiser Stone! Him turning to gold seriously toughens his skin!" Wu Kong called out while taking cover.
"Let me guess, you tried to steal that too?"
"...Ummm..."
"Monkey, is it too late to just leave your brother to handle his screwups himself?"
"Tempting, but I'm still not leaving him."
"Bah, fair enough." Mantis stretched his legs and took a stance. "Looks like blunt blows won't work, and pressure points won't reach. Guess I gotta go for another approach."
Mao Ren grinned and dragged a thumb down. "You can forget it! There's no way you're gonna penetrate this golden armor! Thanks to the Kaiser Stone, nothing's gonna work on me!"
"Oh, man. You're gonna want to return that." Mantis huffed. "And all of that jewelery and gold you're wearing. Seriously dude, are you so greedy that you'd make yourself a walking treasure chest?"
Regardless, Mantis accepted the challenge presented before him.
Zooming up to the warthog, and watching him try and step on him made him laugh. He managed to grab onto it before it made contact, and it made him trio over himself as Mantis took hold of him.
"H-Hey! What the-"
"Come on, Mao Ren! You're a free warthog now! How about you go along and be free, nothing's holding you back anymore." Mantis replied, all while Wu Kong hopped into the warthoy's head and swiftly snatched the Kaiser Stone from him, a brief flash signifying his return to normal. "Also, this is far too important to just keep on you. We'll hold onto it for ya."
"Wait what?! You can't do that, it's mine!"
"And now it isn't. Too bad. I'm more than happy to replace it though. With a headache." With this, Mantis smashed Mao Ren back and forth into the ground, before throwing him against the wall, seeing him slump down.
Monkey sighed as Wu Kong held the Kaiser Stone in front of him, and most of their enemies have been swiftly defeated. Wu Kong was in awe. He had known already that Monkey was now far more capable than he was when they were kids, but to this?
What exactly did he miss out on?
"Alright. I think that's all of them." Monkey sighed while scratching his head, before turning towards Wu Kong. "We're getting out of here."
"R-Right..."
"Okay! About time!" Mantis hopped into Monkey's shoulder. "How about it, boys? We got what we came for, so let's get a move on!"
"I think the best move to make now would be to reunite with Tigress and the others. Booster our strength and skill by meeting the teams back together." Crane stretched his wings and spread them out. Mantis hopped atop his hat while Monkey and Wu Kong grabbed his legs. He soon flapped his wings and the group was sent soaring the darkened skies of Jinzhou. At the time, Wu Kong could only gaze at Monkey, and simply wonder.
How could he have matured this much?
Master Storming Ox was all kinds of pissed off.
The Wu Sisters ended up starting a street brawl that began numbering in the dozens, and now everyone was dealing with the fallout. And the trio of women were having the time of their lives.
He honestly, truly hated their antics.
He also hated that this felt just like old times, street fighting with Rhino and Croc. But instead of against each other, it was together.
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it did feel like a massive improvement. It felt strangely nice, which also frustrated him because he really felt a strong sense of nostalgia, and didn't like that it was instigated by the Wu Sisters acting out.
"Haha! That's right, come at us! Don't go pissing me off by pulling your punches!" Wing cackled as she jumped over several brawlers and knocked their heads together, then kicking one of them into the concrete below her. "You might want to actually do something, Oxy boy! They might just start calling you a wuss!"
"Really?! Even in the middle of all this chaos YOU started, you insult me?!" Ox shouted in outrage as he charged though the crowd, handily knocking them all over and away from him to clear the way.
"Focus, Ox." Rhino said resolutely as he smashed his hammer into the ground, resulting in a shockwave that cleared his area near instantly. "We must stop all of this before bystanders get needlessly injured. That is our priority." Needless to say, street-brawling here of all places was definitely bringing back memories for him and the others. And not necessarily in a good way.
"Ah relax, Rhino." Su lightly hopped onto his shoulder with a paw over her head. "We know we know, keep civilians out of the crossfire and all that. There's no need to worry. That part's being taken care of rather easily." She leapt forth and kicked an incoming large croc in the face, fortunately not Master Croc himself. It would have been hilarious if it was, she would admit. "Just leave it to our smaller, faster acquaintances!"
As she said this, both Shifu and Mei Ling were swiftly getting bystanders out of harms way from all of the chaos. The red panda and fox duo effortlessly carried bystanders out of harms way, all while kicking away anyone that tired to violently interfere with their efforts. In the meantime, to some of the bystanders disbelief, they were having a leisurely chat in the middle of it all.
"So you and your friends were able to defeat this Xi'an demon?" Mei Ling recalled with gentle interest as she sets a young bunny down and gently shoos him away from the danger. "Run along now, little one."
"Indeed. It was one of our most grueling battles, and the most devastating." Shifu replied as he jumped over the blade of another croc that tried cutting him, only for the guy to be kicked away as Shifu carried a goose in his arms, setting her down. "It's not safe here, ma'am. Get somewhere that is, quickly."
"Oh my, what a hero you are!" Mei Ling lightly placed a paw on her chest. "Look at you! Easy with the charm, dear Shifu. You might just woo me all over again!" She then placed a finger in front of her lips. "Careful, though. Play the hero too well and you'll start attracting other women. I'll have to fight them off, tooth and nail."
"Please, Mei Ling. Now is not the time."
"I know, I know."
"Besides, you've already 'stolen' me."
"And I don't intend on 'returning' you, either."
"Ugh, can you two just not?" Taotie sighed as he mostly stayed out of the way, knowing he wouldn't be of too much use in battle. He wished he had scraped something suitable to battle with beforehand. Much of what he did create wouldn't last long. Though before that, he recalled what he just said, he lightly palmed his face. "Great, I sounded like my son just now." At the thought of Bian Zao, he lightly folded his arms. He hoped Bian Zao was doing okay.
"You were saying, good sir?" One of the bystanders asked of him as he was standing nearby.
"Oh, right. Is there anything you can tell us about this Chairman Qing, fellow? We're here on some pretty important business related to him." Taotie got to the point, still slightly irritated by just how easily the Wu Sisters kicked up a fight in the middle of a street. They really were on their home turf, it seemed. And Rhino, Ox, and Croc seem to have adapted quite quickly to the chaos ensuing.
"Ah, Chairman Qing. It's, ah, a rather strange situation with him." A small rabbit replied, lightly rubbing his paws together. "As you might already know, Jinzhou isn't exactly the most pleasant of places to live, sometimes."
"We've noticed." Song cuts in, briefly ducking under a thrown cup that smashed against the wall. "Hey, that was a perfectly good cup you broke! Anyway, go on?"
"It's like, well, after Rhino, Ox, and Croc focused their efforts towards Kung Fu training and then Gongmen City, we rebuilt our homes and tried to return to normalcy. Which, isn't exactly better than what we already had. Then, when we were in need of a new ruler for the territory, Chairman Qing came into power. Being directionless became exhausting and damaging." He lowered his head. "But the direction chosen, wasn't very good. Whenever trouble started up too far, he picks a situation at his leisure and would quash it in the most ruthless ways he can. And he would receive praise for it."
"Oh, I know this scam! Create or take advantage of a bad situation, then resolve it to make yourself look like a good guy!" Wan beamed with an impressed cheer as she kicked away a rhino. "How often do you think he does this?"
The villager sighed. "Right now. You've all walked into it."
"Eh?" Wan blinked. Then Wing and Su blinked. There was a bad situation, and their desire to indulge in some violence made the bad situation worse. Now, something was going to be done to resolve it as quickly as possible?
Did this Qing know about the Wu Sisters poorly controlled bloodlust? If he did, he's definitely taking advantage of it.
"I knew it! This is what happens when you don't restrain yourselves! Are you happy now?!" Ox shouted at the Wu Sisters, mostly towards Wing and Wan.
"Excuse us for defending ourselves, Tubby-Ox!" Wing taunted as she roughly poked Ox's gut. "Seriously, you really let yourself go. You were all buff all those years ago, but now you've got quite the big gut on ya, huh? Top-Heavy Fatty. Do ya wear that harness thing to keep that gut of yours from wobbling uncontrollably?" Wing stuck her tongue out while pulling down an eyelid with a finger. Wan blinked.
"Wait a minute. Po's a pretty big guy himself."
"That's different. Po is adorable. This guy is not. In fact, the verdict is that he's butt-ugly." Wing shrugged. "Or maybe it's just because I hate him. No reason they can't all be true reasons, right?"
"Oh, that makes sense! Haha! Butt-Ugly Ox!"
Ox's eye twitched in aggravation.
"Master Thundering Rhino, I would like permission to-"
"Not the time." Rhino quieted as everyone took a look of the surrounding area. Most civilians and bystanders have retreated into buildings or homes, anxiously watching from the safety they may provide. "It's gotten too quiet."
"Another wave is probably incoming. If what they said about Qing's tactics is true, we're now the next targets for his little show." Ox grunted, steam blowing from his nostrils. "Since we're so knee deep into this anyway, I say bring it."
"Finally, you're starting to sound fun." Wing chuckled as she kept vigilant.
Shifu kept his own wits about him, his large ears flicking as his senses sharpened, watching out for any sort of suspicious movement. Something proceeded to touch his shoulder, and he swiftly swings around to incapacitate them, only for his wrist to be caught before contact.
"Easy there. Ya really want this to be our first interaction after so longelius?"
Shifu's eyes widened. This voice. He recognized this voice. This speech pattern. This fatherly aura. The made up word that made absolutely no sense.
The last one confirmed it for him.
"...What are you doing here?" Shifu spoke quietly as he gently removed his fist.
"I'd like to ask you the same thing. This isn't exactly the most havenheliest of places." Shirong responded, which caused Shifu to facepalm.
"Can you not do that?! Even to this day you make up words that don't exist nor make any sense! Seriously! "longelius", "havenheliest", "rebeltreffication"! I would have thought you'd be capable of using more sensible words in conversation by now!" Shifu groaned as he gently began pushing Shirong away. "In any case, you need to get far away from here, right now. Before-"
"Fu-Fi, who's this handsome gentlemen you're trying to push out of my sight?" Mei Ling peeked over his shoulder, and Shifu groaned. It was too late. It didn't take long for Taotie to peek over his other shoulder.
"Gosh, and he happens to look a lot like you! You sound very familiar with him, too! I wonder who he could possibly be?"
"I don't think we'll ever figure it out!"
"It's a total mystery! It's beyond impossible to solve!"
"Both of you, please. You don't need to do that. I get the message." Shifu sighed as he reluctantly turned Shirong around to face the other two. "Mei Ling, Taotie, this is my father, Shirong."
"Man, that sure wasn't obvious."
"Color us shocked, FuFi!"
"Alright I get it! I apologize for trying to hide him from you!" Shifu surrendered in exasperation. Mei Ling and Taotie have been growing fond of double teaming Shifu via teasing, and he really wasn't the biggest fan of it. Though there also wasn't much he could really do about it at this point. "But honestly, I wasn't exactly excited at the prospect of introducing him to you. He's a thief, a conman, and-"
"Still your father." Mei Ling finished, lightly reaching over to hold Shifu's hand. "FuFi, I was a thief too. Still am, to an extent. And I was also a con-woman, if you looked into it deep enough. And yet we were able to reconnect. What makes this case any different aside from the bond being more familial?"
Shifu sighed, lightly turning away. "That's because, when it came to us, our ideologies and paths in life used to be drastically different. With him, I honestly didn't think I'd ever see him again."
"You didn't? How come?"
"I was under the impression that he wanted nothing more to do with me, since he left me on the Jade Palace steps, told me to wait until he returned, and never did. Though he did trade us a golden sword for food and supplies."
"That's kinda good! At least he visited!" Mei Ling smiled supportively.
"It was poorly crafted and made of wood."
"Ohhhh. Clever. Sounds like something I would do."
"Mei Ling."
"Sorry, sorry."
Shirong's ears folded against his head as he saw the glances Mei Ling and Taotie held towards him. "It's true. I'm a thief and a conman. And I definitely don't deserve a son as fantabulous as Shifu."
"Wow, he wasn't kidding. Is this word thing a tic with you or something?" Taotie tilted his head curiously.
"Indeed. With his nature, it makes sense that he'd be wandering around a place as shady as Jinzhou." Shifu turned towards Shirong. "What is your latest scam, Shirong. I'll make it clear that I want no part of it in the slightest."
"I'm not interested in scams...at the moment." Shirong sheepishly added while looking away, but immediately turned back towards Shifu. "I just wanted to see your face, with my own eyes. I wanted to see for myself that you were alive and well."
"You did?" Shifu raised an eyebrow. Shirong soon handed Shifu a scroll. The slightly younger red panda opened up the scroll, and his eyes widened, alongside Mei Ling and Taotie's.
"Fu-fi, this is the message you sent out throughout China via the Kung Fu Express!" Mei Ling gasped.
"But that was such a long time ago!" Taotie pointed out. Indeed, the scroll looked like it was wearing down, but not completely breaking apart yet.
Shifu looked back towards Shirong while holding the scroll. " I don't understand...why would you hold onto this for so long?"
"One simple reason. I was worried about my son." Shirong lightly raised his paw so he could gently caress Shifu's head. "Did you think I wouldn't nab the chance to check upon how you were doing, even if it was only through a scroll? Of course, nothing beats hearing you with my own ears, seeing you with my own eyes, and feeling you with my own paws. But if that was the only word of you I was going to get for a long time, I made sure to take good care of it. As much as I could."
Shifu didn't know what to say. With the time he's spent traveling around with him before he left him behind, it was very easy to tell when Shirong was lying or putting up a front for a scheme of some sorts, even an elaborate one for the long game. There was absolutely no deceit in his eyes or movements.
"I-"
There was a brief crash through the streets, briefly interrupting the two red pandas as several waves of dust swept over the area.
"Aha! There they are! Was wondering what was taking so long!" Wing Wu was heard cackling over the noise, so everyone turned towards her direction to see where the ruckus was coming from. Wrecked buildings were pushed aside from the sudden crash, meaning something large was coming their way.
Fung narrowed his eyes as he listened to the sounds of those extremely heavy footsteps. There was also a slightly loud, beastly breathing accompanying it with each step. He also noticed other heavy footsteps, except those came without any beast-like breathing. And then yet another series of footsteps that belong to something or someone else.
Conclusion, a lot of things were coming their way, and they were big.
He was proven right in two ways, though definitely not what he expected. What he saw managed to shock him to his core.
There was no way he couldn't recognize them. The beings were made out of living clay. The memories slowly came to him once the many of them came into their full glory. Forgetting them was somewhat impossible, given how involved he was with them in the past.
Large, imposing, terracotta warriors, shaped mostly after crocs like himself. But if they were roaming around in Jinzhou, then that means...
'I don't wanna do this anymore, Dad. These things hurt people! I don't wanna hurt anyone!'
'You think I wanna hear that?! If you're just gonna be a thorn in my side, then get lost! I don't need a disappointment like you holding me back.'
'W-Wait! Please don't! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna be alone!'
'Get with the program or GET LOST!'
'I...I don't even know where to get lost to...'
'Anywhere is better than here! Now git!'
"Fung? Fung!" The croc was shaken out of his gaze by Master Croc, who was looking into Fung's eyes as his own was filled with concern. "You didn't answer me for a moment. What's wrong?"
"I...I know about these Terra Cotta Warriors. I told you about them before."
Master Croc blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "I see. So that means he is around here somewhere, isn't he?" He slowly turned towards the terracotta warriors, his jaws opening menacingly. "Opportunity has fallen in my lap. I have a few choice words to share with him."
Fung was briefly stunned by Croc's silent fury sneaking into his glare and jaws. He had little idea why, at least not a complete one.
And yet...
'Don't wander off like that on your own, Fung. I was deeply worried about you.'
'You're not strong enough to stand on your own just yet, so please stay close to me.'
'It's okay to cry. I'm right here. I won't leave you alone.'
'You could never disappoint me. Just keep doing your best.'
'Would you like me to sleep next to you? Don't be embarrassed. I've had nightmares too.'
'I will follow your demands! Please, just don't harm him.'
'I am Master Croc! Whether there's one hundred seventy-three of you, or one thousand, is irrelevant! Return Fung to me or pay the price!'
'Thank the heavens, you're safe...'
'Come now. Geezer? Please, Ox and Rhino look more like geezers than I do. Wrinkles all around. Do these shining scales look dull to you?'
'Your strength is your own, Fung. I'm merely helping you nurture it. Keep building upon it, and you'll have not just a hide, but a resolve that can endure anything.'
...Why? Fung lightly rubbed his head, as it suddenly began to hurt. Why am I thinking about this stuff NOW of all times?
Su Wu was briefly baffled by the appearance of the Terra Cotta Warriors. She then hummed as she felt large stomping behind her, and looked up to see one standing tall over her, with disturbing stillness. She idly tilted her head, her tail gracefully swaying.
"...What the hell are you looking at, buddy? Is this your way of saying good evening to a lovely lady?"
The warrior raised it's fist and smashed it down on her.
A bit too slowly, since she leapt high in the air, before landing and kicking the warrior in the head, knocking it off. She landed on her feet, already knowing it wouldn't be enough.
"Hey, Rhino!"
Rhino charged, with a twirl of his Cloud Hammer, and smashed the Terra Cotta warrior to pieces in one mighty swing, it's pieces scattering across the street. He sighed briefly, though already noticed that more were beginning to head their way.
"It seems like Qing's found a favorite toy, huh?" Su Wu hummed as she climbed atop Rhino's shoulders. "Well, in any case, you're likely going to be the most useful in dealing with them. You have plenty of finesse to make full use of you having the most force, so try not to screw it up."
"Your confidence in me is flattering, Miss Wu." Rhino scoffed, before taking Su and launching her towards another one of the Warriors. She thrusts both fists forward and smashed it's upper half completely apart. "Su, are you alright?!"
"Tch, please save yourself the effort of worrying about me. You've fought me before and prevailed, then I returned the favor. Concern for me is unnecessary." Her thoughts briefly went to Po, and she sighed. "But, appreciated. Oh, by the way, you might benefit from paying attention to your right."
"Hm?" Rhino turned around and blocked an attack from a hammer, and looked into the eyes of someone he found familiar. "Vachir? Is that you?"
"Great to know you haven't forgotten about me, Thundering Rhino!" Vachir shouted as he was briefly thrown back from Rhino's intense force, skidding across the ground. "You and your father left me behind to be a faded memory! I've been rotting here for the longest of times ever since you both abandoned me! Now I shall make you pay!"
"That only happened because of your ruthlessness going too far. I've heard the story. In an attempt to capture Tai Lung, you've threatened Master Yao's life." Rhino narrowed his eyes. "Was it truly a surprise to you that we've cut our bond to you after hearing such a tale, and have it be the truth? You've disgraced all three of us with your ambition."
"I was almost successful! I deserved a second chance!" Vachir deflected, bashing his hammer into the ground briefly. "I lost it all when you both disowned me. But I can get my reputation back, my proper place back, if I can take you down here! I've been training my own apprentice, you see! We're both going to knock your legacies out of the sky where they hide!"
"Oh? A disgruntled fellow student? This is that guy?! The guy both you and your old man kicked out because his ego got too for his britches? HAAAAAHAHAHA!" Su Wu laughed, lightly slapping her knee. "Hasn't he been humiliated enough already? Guess not, if he's gonna try fighting against you! I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this one!"
Rhino huffed at Su Wu, before focusing back on Vachir. "I hoped you have further polished your strength and skill since then, because you showing up here is proving quite fortuitous for me. For now, I can discipline you for those disgraceful actions myself." He held his hammer towards his fellow rhino. "And you've given me ample reason to do so!"
Elsewhere, Ox narrowed his eyes as he looked around to see even more Warriors heading towards the group. Not only that, but numerous soldiers accompanying them in case even they were not enough. Ox deduced that they wanted to crush the opposition as soon as possible, and as ruthlessly as they could. Worse still, it seemed that a few of the thugs were mixing themselves into the crowd sent to attack them. Ox recognized at least two of them on sight.
Great General Ox, and Yak. Both members of the Hoof Clan. Master Storming Ox cracked his neck slightly and made his way towards them. He'd deal with the lot of them himself. At least, that was the intention, until he felt Wing propping her chest atop his head while holding onto his horns.
"Let's go kick some ass, Ox! Perhaps your usefulness will shine brighter as a battering Ox!"
"I regret this partnership second by second..."
Yak, already knowing how this was going to go, slowly fell back. "We're not gonna win this, everybody, hold them here. I'm going to lure Boar here!"
In the meantime, Fung honestly didn't know what to think about the fact that Terra Cotta Warriors were appearing here of all places, which definitely means that his father was around here somewhere. And he wasn't entirely sure how to process that just yet. All he knew was that he couldn't just stand around and do nothing. He needed to fight and keep them from hurting innocent people. But still, he wasn't sure what to make of yet another series of stomping that rumbled the ground, that wasn't from the Terra Cotta Warriors.
It was when three of them were near-effortlessly smashed aside with a swipe of a massive tail that he could see what was going on. Once he saw who it belong to, his eyes widened slightly. There was no way he could mistake this person, not by a long-shot. How could he?
There's no way he'd be unable to recognize his younger cousin. Especially with how massive he is.
"Li-dong...? You're here too? What are you-"
But something was wrong. Especially since the first thing that Li-dong does upon seeing Fung is to roar, then ruthlessly smack him aside with his tail.
Fung's entire world was spinning, his skull racked with pain, and he was unable to tell what was what, who was who, and which direction was the correct one. If that blow had been any harder, he might have lost a few teeth. His jaw stayed agape as he saw Lidong approach him with a vicious growl.
"...W...Why...?" Fung was barely able to get out from his currently wrecked state. If Lidong heard him, he didn't need him. For he unhesitatingly raised his fist and struck towards Fung with unrelenting force.
The area around them crashed, with debris and wreckage surging around them from the force of Li-Dong's punch. Several others were briefly blown way by the shockwaves, with cracks forming in the ground around them.
"FUNG!" Song leapt across a building and looked towards Fung's direction, seeing Li-Dong attack the smaller croc while he's down.
The smoke around them began to clear, with Li-Dong's outstretched fist being visible, yet it did not reach its target.
Fung slowly opened his eyes as he looked towards the one that shielded him. Croc took the full brunt of the blow with his hide, having barely moved.
"Fung, are you alright?" Master Croc asked of Fung, who idly yet slowly nodded. Croc sighed with relief, before pushing himself back and unbalancing Lidong, then striking him with the full force of his tail, knocking him back. Croc winced slightly. "It looks like this one is going to be difficult to deal with." He managed to fully block the blow and minimize the damage to the surrounding areas, but nevertheless, he wasn't afraid to admit that it hurt.
"Master, that's Lidong! That's my younger cousin!" Fung shook his head and stood up fully to inform Croc, who turned towards him in surprise. "Something's wrong! He's not himself!" This was crazy. He was here too? All this time? Did Bing know his nephew was here?!
"Wait, hold on. That's your younger cousin?!" Song questioned while pointing to the massive Croc known Lidong. Fung sheepishly scratched his neck.
"He, um, had a growth spurt..."
"What kind of freaky growth spurt turns a croc into THAT?!" Wan blinked in astonishment.
"What the hell did he eat to get so big?! A whole damn village?!" Wing exclaimed with just as much surprise.
Master Croc regained his composure, clicking his tongue. "I see. Then it appears I must approach this cautiously." He soon pushed Fung behind him, stepping towards the rampaging Li-dong. "I will deal with him. Focus on the Terra Cotta Warriors, Fung."
"But I-"
"I will not harm him too badly. Aside from that, family should not be forced to fight family. Not like this." Croc turned to Fung with a nod. "Trust in your Master. And in exchange, I'll place my faith in you."
Fung's mind was still a mix of different emotions, unsure on which to focus on. But his Master's reassurance and calming presence managed to help him regain his focus. He placed his trust in him. He can't let that become a mistake.
He shook his head and stood up, adjusting his helmet. "Right...okay. Okay. I won't let you down!"
"You never could, Fung."
With that, both crocs charged back into the fray.
Shifu, Mei Ling, Taotie and Shirong had taken cover once the chaos truly began to rain down around them. Shirong sighed with a shake of his head.
"So that's why he did it..."
"That's why who did what?" Shifu questioned. Shirong slowly turned to Shifu with a foreboding stare.
"Ke-Pa."
The look on his son's face was as expected. Shocked horror at the sound of the name. Understandable, given the circumstances. "A...Are you certain?"
"I played up being senile so he wouldn't become suspicious of me. He was scamming a young primate into doing his bidding. I know a scam when I see one, but I had to play along to keep us from getting killed on the spot."
Before he could divulge further, Shifu swiftly moved in front of Taotie and kicked away a familiar looking chain hammer that nearly bashed his head in. Shocked, Taotie turned towards the source.
"Ever the vigilant one, Shifu."
Shifu's sizable ears twitched as he noticed a familiar one eyed owl gazing at him from the darkness, as most others were fighting around them. He narrowed his eyes. "So, you were here too. Then again, where else would you be?" Jinzhou is where some of the worst of the worst come and gather, after all.
And Shifu has just met the one he might hate most.
"Indeed, where else would I be? Nowhere, thanks to you!" Heilang growled at Shifu. "You exposed us with that letter, and shredded our potential future paths to pieces!"
"After most of the things you and the Lin Kuei have done, you'd have to be deluding yourself into think that's you would get away with any of them." Taotie huffed.
Mei Ling folded her arms. "Let me guess, everyone in China after they caught onto your heinousness attacked you and chased you out everywhere you went, keeping you from succeeding at all costs. Isn't that right?"
Heilang growled at her, then returned his eyes to Shifu. "You little midget bastard. You took everything away from us!"
"Why should I care?" Shifu narrowed his eyes. "The Valley of Peace was my home. The home where I was raised by Master Oogway, where I struggled to raise my son and daughter. A Valley I've created memories with, the good and the bad. You've burned it down and killed nearly all of the villagers. You took everything away from them. So forgive me if I don't offer any sympathy because you're being punished for your cruelty."
"Filthy rat. It was a job. A job we were given because your people were acting out. That's on you!"
Shifu stomped the ground hard enough to crack it, glaring at Heilang. "You don't get to deny responsibility for your actions. You had every bit of agency to refuse such a heinous action, yet you took part anyway." Shifu held his paw outwards. "I'm actually quite glad fate led us back together. Because now, I can finally enact justice for all those you've slaughtered in the Valley of Peace. I will not allow you to escape us again."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Because this is the last time we'll meet. You're gonna die here."
"I find that rather doubtful. But by all means, try." Mei Ling hummed with folded arms.
Heilang growled while cracking his neck. "You, we're not gonna kill. No, someone like you still has their uses." He pulled out his sword and had it slightly tilted. "There's more than a few willing to make use of a vixen."
Mei Ling scoffed at the veiled threat, placing a paw on her hip while rolling her eyes. "Hmph. Sorry, but I already belong to Shifu. No one is stealing me away from him. They're going to be oh so very disappointed."
"The Valley was my home too, once." Taotie narrowed his eyes. "You mangy mutts really had to go and kill all the villagers and burn the whole thing down, huh? Even if we rebuild the Jade Palace, even if we rebuild the Valley from the ground up, those lives you took will stay gone. Shifu has to live with that failure for the rest of his life." Taotie raised his arm, and Song leapt down to hand something to him that she carried with her. "He and I, we're best friends. Despite our differences in approaching life, that is never going to change."
"Ah, you. The inventor." Heilang nodded his head. "Your son made a fool of us once. Luckily you didn't bring him with you. He most certainly would have been singled out first."
Taotie narrowed his eyes further as he slipped something onto his back. "You know, I'm very glad you're so angry with us that you're running your jaws like that. It makes this a lot easier."
"Kill him." Heilang nodded once. The wolves around him suddenly threw a storm of chain hammers towards Taotie. Shifu and Mei Ling narrowed their eyes and moved to protect Taotie...
The chain hammers were blocked by a large, mechanical hand. Heilang's eye twitched in aggravation.
"What in the...?!" Shifu's eyes widened at the sight.
"Heh. What did you think, Shifu?" Taotie muttered as another mechanical hand rose from his pack, and both bashed their fists together. He then raised the arms high above him. "Meet The Iron Claws of Doom!"
Mei Ling blinked, with a sly smile. "Well, it's certainly...something."
"Yes. Yes it is." Shifu slowly smiled himself.
"Tinkering this thing wasn't exactly easy, but I'm finally prepared to put it to its first real test!"
"Son, have you decided?" Shirong voiced as he stood back to back with Shifu, as more of the Lin Kuei began to gather.
"We deal with what's in front of us, and help the people."
Of course. A much greater problem was currently wandering out of his confinement, but Shifu had to focus on the problem right in front of him, first. There was no way he'd catch up to Ke-Pa at this stage anyway, not with the massive chaotic mess he left Jinzhou in. It's likely the reason why he did so in the first place
"Very well. We'll fight together, then."
"Lovely." Mei Ling nodded evenly, though inside, she was really glad she's actually getting the chance to meet Shifu's father. When this whole fiasco is over, there's something very important she wanted to ask the both of them.
Meanwhile, in a much farther part of the city, a panda groaned in aggravation.
"How in the world did I allow myself to get this lost? I should have just stayed with Mei Mei." Li Shan sighed while currently scratching his head under his hat. "All of this noise and bystanders being in danger and criminals fighting each other amongst the chaos. It's really making it hard to focus and sense who I need to."
Li Shan shook his head. He couldn't simply walk away from all of this, though. That wouldn't do. While he could still certainly sense his son's and Mei Mei's chi, accuracy was in shambles because of everything else going on in Jinzhou. The city has devolved into pure chaos, and it was likely only going to get worse. He grumbled a bit, before shrugging and sliding his hat to the side.
"Oh well. Complaining about it isn't going to make it better. I'll just have to deal with it." With that, Li Shan moved forward to where he heard the most fighting, and decided to start there to try and reduce the mayhem that's engulfed the entirety of Jinzhou.
He does this, after leaving seven Terracotta Warriors destroyed in his wake.
(Jinzhou Palace)
Things haven't gotten any more stable since Viper left the fray to retrieve the recipe for the Terra Cotta Warrior's creation.
Lei Kung was pushed back several feet as Po connected another heavy kick to his chest. He laughed it off, all the while the panda was glaring silently at him.
"Aw, come now, Dragon Warrior! We're of the same blood! Strength through combat! So let's have some fun and beat each other to a pulp!"
"If your idea of fighting for fun is beating your opponent into a bloody mess, then you're even dumber than you look." Po grumbled as he pushed his hat up. "And that's coming from someone who isn't exactly a genius themselves. But I know enough that you and I aren't the same at all."
"Don't be like that!" Lei Kung laughed as he leaped forward, smashing both fists atop Po, which the panda caught with both paws, flesh and chi generated. The ground beneath him quaked from the impact, enhanced by the seismic trembles caused by the gorilla before him. "You're such a joy to fight, Dragon Warrior!"
"Can't, say, the same about you!" Po gritted his teeth, slowly beginning to force Lei Kung's fists downwards.
"You don't wanna come around? But you have so much to offer! Give it your all and let's have some fun together!"
"What's your problem?! Do you have something stuck in your ears or something?! Don't talk to me like we're friends!" Both of them pushed against each other more, and the ground around them surged upwards, splintering it greatly.
"Oh you're so hostile! Is it because I gave the kid a little shock therapy? That was to motivate you to give this tour best! And it worked!" Lei Kung pushed further, lightning traveling up and down his arms, grinning madly. "It's nothing personal! Just a bit of a kick to get ha started!"
"What you 'started' was pissing me off! You got your wish there, but that's it! I'm here to help my friends, not fight some jerk like you. So take your chummy talk and BUTT OUT!"
Lei Kung underestimated how literal that was.
Because once Po forcefully pushed both of the gorilla's fists and arms upwards to set him off balance, he launched himself forward and slammed into the Gorillas face, butt-first.
Lei Kung himself was launched into the other side of the room, crashing into the wall.
Po landed on his feet and turned his head to the crash, his hat shadowing half his face, leaving a slightly glowing jade green eye.
Lei Kung broke free from the debris that landed on him, laughing uproariously. "That's the way! I can really feel that you're putting out a decent effort!"
"You're a real piece of work ya know that?" Po rolled his shoulders while again tilting his hat in place.
In another part of the room, Mei Mei stepped back, as the elephant she was doing battle with proved much speedier than expected, watching him run extremely fast all around the room. She noticed that Kuai Xun was wearing a pair of winged golden shoes on his feet, immediately sensing something mystical about them, the same kind of mystical feeling she sensed from Lei Kung and his thunder. They're most likely to be the thing that's giving him a bit of a speed boost.
"I was given these shoes by the Mountain Spirits, which gift a lucky villager every thousand years. Ever since then, they've become my greatest asset!" Kuai Xun declared while blurring around the currently still Mei Mei. "With it, my thieving skills have increased tenfold! Now I've been recruited by Chairman Qing to bring you down! You have no chance of catching me!"
"No chance? No chance at all?" Mei Mei wondered as she lightly gazed at her nails. "Alright then. We'll be putting that to the test soon enough. I'm feeling quite good about my odds."
"And what makes you say that?!"
"Don't you know if you keep speeding your way through life, you'll miss out on a lot about what makes it so amazing?" Mei Mei slid a fan out of her sleeve and began fanning herself. "When you're going so fast, everything appears so blurry, you can't make it out, you can't enjoy the scenery. I wouldn't want a blurry painting hung on my wall."
"...What crazy stuff are you talking about lady?"
"What I'm saying, is that just because you've gotten a bit faster...doesn't mean I can't catch you." She then threw her fan at the ground, precisely right where Kuai Xun speeded to next. It collided harshly with his right leg and threw him entirely off balance.
Which is dreadful, given that he hadn't slowed down.
The trip had sent him spiraling out of control, until he crashed face-first into the wall, greatly crashing it and nearly causing it to collapse. Mei Mei sauntered after him with gently swaying hips.
"Plus, you go too fast without stopping, ornhoing at a reasonable pace, you'll eventually crash. Just like that." Mei Mei approached him while retrieving her fan, gently sliding it back into her sleeve. Kuai Xun gasped, before he quickly turned around and swung towards her. She easily caught the elephant's trunk with her paw, sighing slightly. "I've got a feeling that you're only a danger with your speedy shoes here. That is, until somebody with good reaction time manages to catches you."
"Um..."
"Those precious Mountain Spirits gave you a gift and you decided to use it to give other people grief? That makes me wonder if they can demand gifts to be returned, because you've clearly been misusing yours." She then pulled her ribbon out of her sleeve, lightly kicked up Kuai Xun so he would stand, quickly wrapped him up, and batted his cheek. "Now then, I did promise you something, didn't I?"
"...Is it too late to ask for you to go easy?"
"My precious Lei Lei just got shocked for kicks. I'm not in a forgiving mood right now." Mei Mei stressed with a deceptively sweet smile. Kuai Xun began to sweat. "Oh no, you don't get to whimper out on me simply because you got caught. Like any good performer, you don't get to just tiptoe off the stage whenever you feel like it, especially when there's an audience watching. The show must go on!"
With that, she sent him spinning back with a kick, pulled him back towards her only to bounce him back with her belly, then pulled him back once more, only to leap upwards as he crashed into the ground, then she stomped down, rear first. The ground splintered beneath the two of them, and Kuai Xun was promptly out.
"Aw, you're done already. All talk and no dance, huh?" Mei Mei huffed, before she shifted herself off of the elephant and glared towards Qing. "As for you..."
"Warriors, strike." Qing waved a nonchalant wing.
Mei Mei almost stormed her away towards him, but several Terracotta Warriors gathered up in a line to block her way, and two of them smashed the ground where she was to force her back. She landed on her feet, clicking her tongue.
Tigress could see her own predicament as a bit of a self-imposed challenge.
Terracotta Warriors apparently super tough? Check.
Quite numerous in number while she's somewhat separated from her allies? Check.
"Stripey Baby!"
Cute panda child refusing to un-attach herself from her ankle? Unfortunate check. She wouldn't pretend she's absolutely hopeless with children anymore, but she keeps wondering why they seem just as likely to gravitate towards her as much as Po.
"You're not making this easy for me." Tigress sighed with a shake of her head. "But if that's the way it is going to be, I might as well use it as a method of training." Tigress conceded to the panda girl. Lei Lei began giggling as Tigress's tail slowly and gently wrapped around her and tightened, before lifting her up from the ground. "Besides, I'll feel better with you this close to me than letting you sit around somewhere idle and vulnerable."
Viper, Tai Lung, and Monkey have demonstrated excellent tail strength. About time she continued practicing hers. Timing could be better, but now she has a reason to. A risky one, but she prefers to have the use of her paws. And besides, the little one seems quite content, despite being shocked earlier. She bounces back quickly. It gives a hint that she's far tougher than she looks.
Doesn't mean there wouldn't be retribution for what happened, though.
Tigress took a breath, as the Terracotta Warriors attempted to surround her, via smashing their fists down on her. She positioned Lei Lei behind her and raised her arms to block the blow, the impact sending splintering cracks all around her from where she stood.
An idle four seconds later, it's the Terracotta Warrior's fists that cracked.
Tigress deduced that these things were tough, but that's about it for them, being huge and tough. Actually being capable of combat, however, proved to be out of their realm. They may be far more effective against those that didn't have the physical might to directly combat and outright destroy them.
Good thing she was here.
"These creations are all force and no finesse." Tigress said as she kicks upwards, snapping the Terra Cotta arm right off, catching it, then leaping forward to smash it's own fist into it's face. "While I have quite a bit of both." Landing on all fours, she briefly turned around to see the second one preparing to attack her, and she realized just how slow they really were. She proves this by quickly running towards it on all fours and proceeds to kick it's left leg, causing it to fall forward on it's face. She flipped backwards and smashed her fist right through it, breaking it in half in a single, focused strike.
The third one to her right stomped into view. She stood up and took a breath, gently bring her paws together with a brief bit of space in-between them. She closed her eyes and waited patiently. Once it actually managed to get to her, and attempted to attack, her eyes shot open. She leapt right over the arm shooting towards her, brought her paws back, and thrusts both paws forward with a double paw strike.
It's entire upper half was reduced to scattered debris.
She landed on her feet with a deep sigh, relaxing her muscles for a bit, as she still had to remain vigilant. Though she had to briefly check something. She swung her tail around so that Lei Lei was in front of her. "How are you doing? Are you uncomfortable?"
The panda girl simply seemed amazed by Tigress, smiling brightly with her big blue eyes. It took a lot of restraint for Tigress to not cuddle her right then and there, because she really did need to stay focused.
"I'll take that as a no." Tigress smiled, before she refocused her eyes on the enemies. At least the self-imposed training was working a bit; her tail was very secure around Lei Lei, and she didn't weigh much to her at all.
Mei Mei could see how well Tigress was handling herself, and how Lei Lei felt so safe with her. Lei Lei was quite a friendly girl, but this was something Mei Mei hasn't seen from her before. Not to this extent. Maybe something was different here.
Mei Ling, in the meantime, smiled as her staff twirled and smacked Hundun across the head. Grunting, he powers through it as he turned and fired yet another crimson blast from his horn. She swerved around it, hearing the explosion go off a few feet behind her, jabbing her staff in the center of his gut, them smacking it directly upwards in the chin, then twirled and smack him across the face again. She twirled her staff again and sweeps it under his legs, completely tripping him over. She then held one end towards his face as he grunted and tried to stand.
"Your skill...is rather impressive, for a fledging like yourself, from the Academy of Lee Da, where your skill was honed and expanded, where they're nurtured and eventually blossom into a greater set of skills."
"Hundundancy, you're really living up to that nickname, aren't you?" Mei Ling hummed, her tail waving quietly. Hundan narrowed his eyes and eventually fires another blast, yet Mei Ling quickly used her staff to smack his head across to the left, causing him to misfire.
Right next to Qing.
"SQWA?!" Qing panicked as the blast threw him off his seat, and he ended up crashing against the ground, with the seat itself being burned up. "Hundun, watch your bloody aim!"
"My apologies! I'm very sorry, for my regretful action of firing where I didn't mean to! I'm guilty, for my accidental misfire is worthy of contempt, filling my heart with shame!"
"You know, I have to respect your dedication towards this." Mei Ling tilted her head. "That said, you're likely out of shots by now. You're gonna have to reload on fire gems eventually." She guessed correctly, as Hundun did indeed attempt to pull more fire gems to place into his horn, only for them to be smacked away, with one of the gems being tossed right into one of the Terra Cotta warriors, blowing a huge chunk of it's right side away. "Not like I'd just sit here and let you, though."
Hundun grunted as he stomped the ground, hard enough to briefly lift Mei Ling upwards with debris, She blinked at the suddenness of it, but managed to flip backwards and land perfectly on her feet.
"A true gifted one, you are. It baffles me, feels me with confusion and leaves me feeling puzzled. I've been trained by Vachir, who was trained by Thundering Rhino, who was trained by Flying Rhino. By all accounts, taking in all the variables, I should be stronger than you, having built up my might by the one who built up his power, with the mightiest Rhinos in China. So how?"
"I stood up to, and continue to stand up to those who are larger and stronger than me all the time." Mei Ling declared with resolved eyes. "And despite having been trained by someone who themselves were trained by a famed Kung Fu Master...I get the feeling you haven't used that training for good. Especially when you're affiliated with someone like Qing. You feel like a bully, and I don't have very good tolerance for those." She briefly looked towards Bing. "Did you just stand by and watch what happened to him? Was he able to defend himself at all?"
Hundun brushed himself off and grinned. "I was the one who brought him up here. Being one of the convicts who's been caught, and one of the first to really escape from the prison he was imprisoned and trapped in, Bing was punished as the guilty should be."
Mei Ling took a deep breath, then let out a disappointed sigh. "Alright."
Hundun found himself being smacked across the floor as Mei Ling quickly jumped and swung her staff quickly and forcefully enough to send him tumbling across it. She landed gracefully on her feet, as Hundun grunted in anger, holding his face as he stood back up.
"It's going to take more than that, for that was too insufficient to bring me down for good, not nearly enough to seal my defeat."
"Really? Guess I'll try a bit harder." Mei Ling held her staff towards him, her expression firm and focused.
Back with Po and Lei Kung, Po jumped right over a bolt of lightning punched towards him by Lei Kung, who was still laughing uproariously.
"Still not enjoying yourself, Dragon Warrior?!"
"Lei Kung, do hurry up! They're getting a bit too close for my liking!" Qing coughed, still trying to recover from being blasted off of his seat. Po briefly glared at the crane, then back towards Lei Kung.
"Why are you even working for this guy?"
"Huh?"
"That guy's over there squawking orders while you're doing all of the dirty work. He can't even fight for himself, can he? Doesn't that sound a bit unfair to you?"
Lei Kung blinked, as the lightning charge slowly died down. "...Ya know, you have a point there, Dragon Warrior. This your dragon wisdom at work or something?"
Qing's panic rose dramatically.
"Right then. I know what I have to do now."
Qing blinked, and suddenly found Lei Kung appearing in front of him in a flash of lightning. He backed up with a squawk. "L-Lei Kung!? What are you...no, you wouldn't dare!"
"Hold still. This won't hurt a bit."
"N-No! Please do-" Qing tightly closed his eyes for what would surely be his demise via betrayal...only, it never came. His eyes reopened, and soon widened as he suddenly found himself engulfed with lightning, yet it wasn't hurting him. No, more like, he felt like he was generating it himself. He looked at his wings, as they too were generating lightning. "What in the..."
Lei Kung turned and did the same with Hundun via placing his finger against his chest, then flashing over to the downed Kuai Xun. Hundun gasped briefly twitched from the sudden burst of power, and Kuai Xun slowly pushed himself from the ground, also welling up with power.
Po could sense this the most accurately, and his jaw dropped from how sudden it all was.
"What...what is this...?" Qing gazed towards Lei Kung, who nodded.
"The Dragon Warrior is right. It ain't right that I'm doing all the heavy lifting to help fulfill your ambition. You should also be able to contribute to it yourself, to have the power to enforce your rule yourself when you need to. So, I'm sharing my power with you and the others, as well as intuition on how to use them. Now, you can contribute more to our ambition, and to carry it out yourself." Lei Kung clenched his fist tightly. "Let's crush them all together, then set out to truly make Jinzhou yours!"
"Lei Kung..."
Mei Mei blinked, and Kuai Xun was suddenly behind her, even faster than before. She barely had time to raise her paw to block a punch straight to her cheek, before she was launched forcefully into a wall, nearly collapsing it entirely from the impact.
"Miss Mei Mei!" Lei Lei panicked and reached out for her, only to be reluctantly restrained by Tigress, who was gritting her teeth.
"I'm even faster than before! Lightning enhanced speed on top of these shoes?! What could be better?!"
"...Hah...now it's a proper dance." Mei Mei panted as she emerged from the smoke, her right sleeve slightly torn and dripping with blood. "I mean, it's cool to see bad guys genuinely giving each other a hand and supporting each other, but why's it gotta be at our expense, huh?"
"Hehehe..." Hundun grinned as Mei Ling stood at the ready. "You've done well, in which you're performance was impressive. Allow me to give you a round of applause, caused by the sound of clapping!" Hundun separated his arms and them clapped. Mei Ling yelped as the resulting shockwave sent her flying across the room, tearing the ground apart as she went. She grunted and managed to land on her feet, holding one of her ears.
"I appreciate the applause, but thunderclaps are a bit too loud. Mind quieting down a bit?" Mei Ling smiled while using her staff to help her stand. The golden cat was quite winded from the shockwave.
Qing saw the incredible increase in power two of his subordinates displayed, after Lei Kung shared some of his with them. After briefly looking at his own wings again, he slowly smiled and chuckled. "Ah. Of course. I should listen to my right hand man on this. My ambition, I should also be able to contribute to with my own two wings. All I've done is sit around and order without doing much further than planning. But I must do more than plan in order to see it through. I must take action!"
A clap of thunder, and a flash of lightning. Tigress closed her eyes briefly as well as placed her paws over Lei Lei's ear's. When the noise and light died down, she reopened her eyes, only for them to shoot open from utter disbelief.
"I am Chairman...no, not something as meaningless as that. I'm so much greater..." A loud, thundering voice sounded throughout the complex, as a giant lightning talon first stepped out of the smoke. "I am the proper ruler of Jinzhou. It's order depends on me, it's peace depends on me, it's survival depends on ME." A lightning coated wing, also rose out of the smoke. "I must not simply sit idle as chaos reigns. I must bring justice, I must bring order. And I must smite all that dare to disrupt it." Lightning flashed all over, as sounds of thunder began sounding throughout. "Yes, smite is indeed a good word. This lightning will smite chaos inducers, and this thunder will crash upon those that oppose me..."
A crash of thunder, a thunderbolt of lightning, and the smoke cleared. Tigress couldn't believe her eyes, as she held the terrified Lei Lei close to her. This wasn't simply Qing anymore.
It was a giant beast of lightning that's taken up his avian likeness.
"You may refer to me as: Qing, The Thunder Emperor!" Thunder and Lightning soon crashed in unison, trembling throughout the complex. Mei Mei rubbed her chin.
"Huh. Theatrics. Not bad, not bad. Really like the lightning effect, brings out a sense of might." Mei Mei smiled anxiously. "As for the fight...we might be in trouble."
"Wouldn't be just be 'The Thunderor', though? Combine the words?" Mei Ling tilted her head. "Thunderer or Thunderor. Wonder how that would work out..."
Lei Kung grinned. "Yeah. That's more like it, Boss. You're adjusting to that mystic power quickly, as expected. Now you'll be able to rule Jinzhou much more personally." He slowly turned towards Po. "As for you and me..."
"W-" Po didn't finish as Lei Kung flashed in front of him, grabbing him by the face.
"It's getting too crowded in here, so let's take our duel OUTSIDE!" He chanted uproariously' as he suddenly threw Po into the wall, briefly causing a few coughs. He then charged towards him shoulder first, and in a large blast of lightning, sent them both flying out of the palace, and into the city of Jinzhou below them.
"PO/LOTUS!" Tigress and Mei Mei shouted, though a thunderbolt nearthe former's feet caused her to jump back.
"I'd worry more about yourself, if I were you." Qing declared, his lightning talon stomping the ground. Tigress jumped and turned her right arm towards another lightning blast, which crashed into her dead on. Growling, she turned around again and held Lei Lei as she crashed into the ground, keeping the cub from feeling the harsh impact. "Now then, I believe it's time me and my loyal subordinates annihilated you, and your accomplices."
Lightning charged in his wings, lightning surged through Kuai Xun's body, and Hundun was about to use another thunderclap once more. Mei Mei, Mei Ling, and Tigress all gritted their teeth as the trio proceed to attack once more.
But where Po exited, more entered.
Hundun's eyes widened as he held his arms up, blocking a forceful kick from the soaring Crane.
Kuai Xun charged towards Mei Mei, but was intercepted by a speedy kick from Mantis and a tail lash from the entering Viper.
Qing shoots a thunderbolt towards Tigress, yet she was pulled away from the area by Monkey.
"Well, you seem to be having fun, Tigress." Monkey quipped, not taking his eyes off of Qing. "So this is the guy who ordered Wu Kong's execution, huh? He seems more...shocking than I thought he'd be.
"Monkey...?" Tigress blinked as she gently set Lei Lei down. "Did you manage to save your brother...?"
"Yup. We've got problems all over the place, though I guess that's gotta wait right now." Monkey blinked as he noticed Lei Lei plopped on the ground. "Uhh...Tigress. Is that a mini-Po you have next to you, who is also a girl?"
"Her name's Lei Lei. Mei Mei's over there." Tigress pointed to the female panda in question, who was supported by Mantis and Viper. Monkey blinked, wide-eyed.
"Woah! She really is like a female version of Po! Just curvier and more feminine!" He scratched his head and tilted it slightly after giving Mei Mei a once over. "Okay, wow. I never thought I'd find anyone with an even bigger butt than Po's. Show's how much I know, I guess."
"Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but we're kind of in the middle of a brawl, here!" Mei Mei called out, a paw on her hip. "...Though if you can multitask, please, do go on and admire my figure more. I insist!"
"She's right, we don't have time or opportunity for a detailed debriefing. We'll tell you more, later." Tigress narrowed her eyes as she handed Lei Lei to Wu Kong. "Here, your hands are free. Since you're an addition, watch over her for us and keep her from getting hurt, understood?"
"Take this, too!" Viper shouted as she tossed the formula for Terra Cotta Warriors towards him, which he caught in a panic.
"W-What?! You're just gonna dump these things on me?! Why should I have to do it?!"
"I have two very persuasive reasons." Tigress first raised her right paw and cracked her knuckles, then did the same with her left paw, and pounded one into the palm of the other. "Is it clearer now?"
"...Very clear, ma'am. I'll do my best." Wu Kong quickly saluted with sweat running down his brow. What kind of friends did Monkey make?!
"We appreciate your cooperation."
"Tigress, lemme give you a paw." Monkey declared as he stood next to her, towards Qing. Tigress looked towards him, then softly smiled as she placed a paw on his shoulder.
"I knew you could do it. Well done." Monkey blinked briefly at this, then smiles back. "I'll handle Qing. I need you to protect him." Tigress pointed to the still unconscious Bing. "He's Fung's father. Please keep him from harm."
"Fung's pops, huh? Alright. I seriously dunno what's going on, but you can count on me, boss!"
Crane narrowed his eyes towards Hundun, while Mei Long walked up beside him. "Are you alright, Mei Ling?"
"Mostly. I was just getting started." Mei Ling stretched and rolled her arms a bit. "I'll appreciate the extra pair of wings."
"So...Crane swoops in from the skies, from which the birds fly, in order to interfere with a battle that was between me and her." Hundun pointed to Mei Ling. "A shame, that both the wind beneath your wings, and the wind within your body, will soon be knocked out from under and out of you, leaving you breathless and plummeting to the earth, deafened by the crashing sound of thunder!"
"You're a rhino of prose, huh? I happen to take a hobby in calligraphy myself that involves a bit of that." Crane said as he tilted his hat. "I'll be sure to write a short story through it. My favorite part will be how the Crane helped overcome the rhino. It's gonna take far more than deafening thunder to make me stop flying."
Kuai Xun glared as the much smaller Mantis had stopped him from landing yet another speed blow towards Mei Mei. "What do you think you're doing, bug? You really think you can stop me?! I have these golden speed shoes, AND I'm infused with the speed of lightning! You don't stand a chance! I'm bigger, AND faster!" He said while charging some around him for good measure. "I'm undoubtedly the fastest person in all of China, now!"
"The Fastest? You?" Mantis chuckled, as he raised his forelegs up for battle. "Alright buddy, challenge accepted!"
Mei Mei grunted, slightly annoyed that a bit of her dress was torn and tattered. Viper slithered up and around her body, ending up coiled around her arm. "Mei Mei, allow me to assist you!"
"Heh, good call. Even the Magnificent Mei Mei has to accept help every once in a while." She then turned to Tigress. "What about Lotu-Po?"
Tigress clenched her fists. "Our focus needs to be on the battle here. We have to trust Po to handle himself against Lei Kung. After what he did, we can't take our eyes off of these three right now. They won't let any more of us leave. Po will trust us with this battle, and we'll trust him with his." The rest of the Five nodded in understanding, trusting her judgement. She nodded back in appreciation. "Furious Five, FIGHT!"
"Oh, triple F! Very clever!" Viper hissed with a smile. Everyone else sprung into action against their respective opponents. Qing's lightning talon stomped in front of Tigress, and he glared at him as bolts of lightning occasionally shot off of his lightning body.
"Still, STILL you choose to defy me?! Very well, I'll execute... no, I'll ELECTROCUTE you all! You won't stand in the way of me and my order! MY justice!"
"You want to impose your sense of order on Jinzhou itself? Then yes, we'll happily bring our chaos to defy your order." Tigress raised her paw towards him. "Want us to submit to your rule? You want to tame this tiger? You'll have to do it by force."
... She's. So. COOL! Mei Mei couldn't help but gush at the sight of Tigress standing up to a transformed beast of lightning with no fear in her eyes or voice. As she thinks about that, and the rest that have recently come in to help, a reassuring thought entered her mind.
Lotus surrounded himself with some truly reliable friends.
Meanwhile, outside, Lei Kung had Po by the face again, and was currently charging his arm with more lightning, Grinning, he looked toward the ground as they still soared.
"Look out below!"
He threw Po forcefully down into the earth, and the panda crashed directly into it, with a large blast of lightning sparking all over from the impact. It's as if an actual crash of lightning crashed down onto the earth. Lei Kung landed a few feet away from the crater that was formed from Po's brutal crash. He scoffed and folded his arms. He wasn't fooled by it for a moment, and didn't bother calling out for him.
Sure enough, Po slowly emerged from the rubble, one step at a time. He spit out some dirt, dusted off his hat, and placed it back on his head, even as half his face was slightly matted with blood. Not to mention the numerous other bruises beginning to cover his body. Yet, the most the panda felt at the moment, was annoyance.
"That's right. Rise to the challenge, Dragon Warrior!" Lei Kung called out as he repeatedly beats his chest, which let out brief thundering sounds with each impact. "Now it's just the two of us! Let me show you why they call me Lei Kung The Thun-"
He doubled over as Po had struck him hard in the gut before he could fully finish, which caused splintered cracks in the ground to form around them.
"Dude, between you beating your chest, your shouting, and the thunder and lightning, you're REALLY loud."
Po slowly pulled back, as Lei Kung stepped back as well while holding his pained ribcage. Po tilted his hat back over his head while he glared towards Lei Kung.
"Jinzhou will be better off without your deafening thunder roaring in it's ears every day and night. It's about time somebody stole it from you."
Jinzhou...is kind of a mess right now.
Like, REALLY a mess. All-over the place.
Fortunately, our heroes are out to set things as rightly as they can, before they set off to deal with the threat building over the horizon.
Until next time!