Hello there!
So, this wasn't really supposed to come out yet, it was supposed to wait until I finished either The Truth Shall Set You Free or The Empress (probably the former since it's way ahead in chapter count), but I have to admit something.
I need a break from The Truth. I really do.
You see, I've written chapter after chapter of that story, and I've kind of started to lose sight of the endgame, if you know what I mean. Getting to the endgame is what motivates me to start writing a chapter, but now I feel like I'm getting so bogged down in the details. I first realized it when I figured out I only seem to get writer's block while writing that story. On the other hand, I broke a personal record while writing the seventh chapter to The Empress the other day. I wrote 4,700 words without stopping. I'm quite proud of my personal best. You see, I started to notice that when I think about The Empress, I get in a good mood just thinking about the story, but I just can't seem to think about The Truth in that way anymore. I don't think I need a break from writing, I just need a break from that story for a little while, until I can come back to it with a fresh perspective.
But, I quickly realized that I needed to do something else to temporarily take its place. It just doesn't feel right writing a single story. I kind of like having two, so I can take a break from one and focus on something completely different.
So, I reached into the library of possible full-length story ideas and pulled a book out, dusted it off, and I am now ready to present it to you all. As you may have guessed, it's called 2112.
So, this is going to be completely different from my other two stories. Both of the others are focused on Tigress, and both take place post-KFP 3. This one is going to have neither of those things.
First, I think it's time I give Po some of the spotlight. He is the main character of the series, after all. I also have been thinking about possible AU's, and ways to recreate the story of KFP 1-3 from the ground up, mirroring the original basics and including as many characters as possible, and then taking it somewhere completely different, setting-wise.
And, 2112 was born. And yes, 2112 is a song. Those of you who've been following my words probably know that I'm somewhat partial to music. I got the idea for the setting of the story while listening to the song by Rush. You can listen to it or read the lyrics if you want a general overview of the setting, but it's kind of long, and it isn't really necessary.
This is a futuristic space sci-fi AU. There. I said it. Silly? Yes. Stupid? Yes. I think it's going to be fun!
Oh, as you probably noticed, this story is rated M. I originally wasn't going to give it that rating, but I reread this prologue after I read it, and I was like… well, you'll see what I'm talking about ;)
On with the show…
The Zenith
Tai-Lung opened his eyes. At first, everything was blurry and distant, like he was looking through a twisted piece of glass. He blinked, trying to shake the intense grogginess of the drugs.
"Where am I?" he wondered. "What happened?"
Then, he remembered. Everything. The firefight, the retreat, the electric net falling over him, fighting to get out of it, and then nothing but the darkness closing in.
Tai-Lung opened his eyes and put all of his energy into focusing on the area around him. He was in a very dark hallway. Crimson lights were periodically placed on the ceiling, giving the black metal walls a sinister glow. The hallway wasn't in the shape of a rectangle, but instead, it tapered closer together towards the top, so that the top of the hall was smaller in width than the bottom of the hall, almost making it a triangular prism. As Tai-Lung squinted, he could see that the walls next to him were not empty. There were the outlines of rooms. He turned his head to look, and he saw something in the corner of the small, bare room. It was in the corner. It looked like… a pile of dirty clothes?
"No," Tai-Lung thought. "It can't be."
But it was. As he looked, the pile of clothes shifted, and it was then did he realize that it was a person. Beaten, starved, and hopeless, it was a person. He could only see the shine of a pair of eyes coming from the clothes.
It was then did the leopard realize that he was moving. How was he moving, he wondered? His feet weren't moving.
Tai-Lung suddenly was hit with a wave of senses. The pain of the electric net coursed through his body. The powerful smell of antiseptic flooded his nostrils. The gentle buzz of the electricity flowing through the building, his current state of motion.
In panic, he looked down, and he finally realized that he wasn't walking. He was strapped to a table that was tilted slightly back. It had magnetic hover mechanisms, so it never actually touched the floor. It was an automated table, so no one even needed to push it. It merely floated on its own accord, with its metal straps tightly securing the leopard. Tai-Lung struggled to break free; he thrashed as violently as he could to get his arms loose. But it was all to no avail. In fact, it almost seemed as if the bonds were getting tighter, as if the table was somehow mocking him.
Suddenly, everything made sense to the leopard. It had been such a confusing time recently, waking up again and again, only for someone to quickly stick a needle in his neck and put him back under again. He now knew where he was.
The Zenith. The one place in the galaxy where he didn't want to be.
Located on the moon, Greon 6, The Zenith was home to the Grandmasters. Located within a perpetual storm system and surrounded by a raging sea, the dark fortress had been impossible for the rebel's spaceships to access. The Grandmasters were the very people Tai-Lung and his entire family were fighting to gain freedom from. Well, to call that thing a person wasn't exactly accurate. It could imitate, it could copy, and it could learn, but it would never be a person.
Tai-Lung stopped struggling, as he knew it was pointless. The table would take him wherever it wanted to take him. A wave of fear hit him.
"Why are they keeping me alive?" he wondered, as he had been hopeful that they would have just killed him when the electric net hit him. Were they going to interrogate him? Yes, he thought, that must be it. "They're going to ask me about where they are. Where we were hiding. Which system, which planet, which quadrant, which sector, everything." Tai-Lung did his best to calm himself down. He would not give his family to these monsters. No matter what they did to him.
Setting his jaw defiantly, Tai-Lung mentally prepared for whatever came next. The table hovered on, carrying past the cells. Even though the cells didn't have bars or any kind of barrier, he knew better. If anyone tried to cross the line between the small cells and the hallway, the force fields would kick in, causing great discomfort.
The table finally came to the end of the long hall. At the end of the wall, there was a door. It slid open, revealing an elevator. The nearly perpendicular table adjusted itself to fit through the door, spun around so Tai-Lung was facing the door, and stopped moving as the door slid back in place. Tai-Lung could feel the elevator moving upwards, and he could also see the numbers on the large dial move upwards.
3rd floor.
10th floor.
37th floor.
The elevator went higher and higher, going and going. It seemed like it would never stop. After what seemed like hours, until finally came to the floor right before the top.
The 999th floor.
The door slid open, revealing another poorly-lit room. The table pushed him forward, the elevator door closing behind him.
Tai-Lung looked around the room. The whole room was circular, but as soon as the table hovered out of the elevator, it began to rise on a few stairs, leading to a small circular platform. Like the hallways, the room was mostly dark, but had a few crimson lights on the tops and sides.
As the table rose toward the platform, Tai-Lung could see that it was mostly empty. It only had two things. In the center was another table, designed for people to rest on. Attached to the top of the table were a pair of hinges that held two metal boards. The metal boards had spikes on the end of them, and Tai-Lung knew at that moment what the chair was used for.
He was in the interrogation chamber. Those boards folded down and electrocuted any victim unfortunate enough to be on the table. Not enough to kill their victims, but just enough so that they would talk.
The second thing that caught Tai-Lung's attention was the peacock. Tai-Lung had never actually seen the Head Grandmaster in person, but he had seen him everywhere else. On the screens, on the monitors, he was everywhere. He occasionally gave broadcasted announcements, which every person in every planet he controlled was required to watch on their holographic screens at their homes.
The peacock turned to look at the leopard. He gave a soft smile. Here he was, a small, pale peacock, wearing only a simple white robe, yet Tai-Lung felt a wave of terror wash over him at the sight of Lord Shen.
The lord extended his wings in a gesture of welcome.
"Greetings, leopard! We meet at last!" Shen gave a slight chuckle as the table carrying Tai-Lung hovered over to the other table. When the two tables were near each other, the restraints on Tai-Lung began to both loosen and spin, flipping the leopard around. Suddenly, the table tipped itself forward and retracted its restraints, dumping him on the interrogation table. The second he hit the table, more restraints shot up from the sides of the table, locking him securely in place.
Shen walked up to the immobilized Tai-Lung.
"I do hope you're finding our home suitable for your taste."
Tai-Lung only growled back, desperate to wring the peacock's long neck.
"Ahh, tsk, tsk, that kind of behavior won't get you anywhere. Everything will be a lot less painful if you just cooperate."
Tai-Lung made his eyes look in a different direction, focusing on his metal toughness. He would need it a little bit.
Shen wasn't so pleased at the leopard's silence. "Oh, come now, my friend, I don't like using this little contraption, but I will be forced to if you won't talk with me."
Silence.
With a grin that disproved his words, Shen reached for the side of the table and pushed a button with tips of one of his fingers. He backed away, and the two metal boards slowly came to rest right above Tai-Lung. It stopped just as the tips of the thin needles came to a rest on his pitch-black prisoner's outfit.
Before it could start, Shen gave him one last offer.
"You do know that this won't kill you, right? It will only make you suffer until you give me what I want."
Tai-Lung finally responded to the lord's words. "What you want? You mean what it wants."
Shen, in what seemed like one giant stride, was suddenly standing right next to the table. He quickly put a feather up to Tai-Lung's lips.
"Shhhh," he whispered. "Please, he prefers to be called he. You see, he gets very angry when people call him an it. It is unwise to make him angry. Now, this is very simple. I just want to know which rock your father and his whole little gang are cowering under."
"I can't tell him," the leopard thought to himself. "No matter what."
He opened his mouth and began with, "I'll never-"
"-Never tell me?" Shen finished. He seemed disappointed "Tsk, you people are all alike. Nobody has any imagination anymore." The peacock gave another smile. "Well, I suppose I'm partially to blame for that." With that, the lord took a few steps backward.
"Very well. Just remember; you may speak to me at your leisure. Power on; lowest setting," he finished, talking to the table.
The table came to life, with the tips of the needles beginning to flow with electricity.
Tai-Lung was in discomfort, but it wasn't anything major. He could stand it.
"Raise the level," the peacock ordered the table.
The current rose, causing greater pain. Tai-Lung gritted his teeth together, trying to ignore it.
"Raise the level," the peacock said once more.
Now the leopard was in pain. He began to twitch against his restraints, hoping that it would end; that somehow he could break free.
"Raise it five levels."
The current surged, and Tai-Lung thrashed against the restraints, letting his cares slip past him as he wished for death, as it would surely be better than the pain he was going through at the moment.
"Raise it five more."
Tai-Lung let loose a primal scream, trying to divert his pain anyway he could. Sometime during the scream, Shen suddenly ordered-
"Shut down."
And just like that, the electricity stopped flowing, and the torture ceased. Tai-Lung groaned, relieved that it was over but worried that he couldn't get out of his current situation.
"Now, I don't like using this barbaric machine, but, you must admit, it is effective."
Tai-Lung could only whimper in pain.
"Now, won't you just tell me where they are? It really is simple."
Tai-Lung managed to collect enough breath to speak. "And what… and what are you going to do with me then?"
Shen was silent for a moment. Then that cursed smile appeared on his beak once more.
"Ohhh," he said with some realization. "I see. You think I'm going to kill you after you tell me what I want."
Shen got closer to the table and gently ran the back of his feather down Tai-Lung's face. Tai-Lung tried to turn his head away, but the restraints wouldn't let him.
"No," Shen continued. "I'm not going to kill you." He put his head closer to Tai-Lung's and softly whispered, "You are going to be part of something beautiful."
Shen backed away once more and sighed.
"Well, I was hoping that you would tell me before we began the project, but I see that'll take too much time." Shen raised his head and shouted, "Bring them in!"
At his command, four circular doors on the ceiling opened up, and the circular pieces of the ceiling gently floated down to their level, carrying a variety of black machines and tools. When they all simultaneously reached the floor, they all hovered towards the table. There were machines of all kinds, from androids to what looked like a box with arms. As they approached, the metal bars containing the electric tips moved upwards on their hinges and folded themselves so that they were at the back of the table. The table tilted backwards, until Tai-Lung was facing the ceiling.
They all hovered above the terrified leopard, who could only look at their light sensors, pretending that they were eyes with some kind of sympathy inside them, instead of the soulless machines that they really were.
Shen walked to the table again, the machines moving to the side to make room. He peered down at Tai-Lung.
"We've been working on a new project lately. It will help us greatly in exterminating your annoying little friends. And the best part? You'll do all the work for us."
Shen turned around to leave. The machines closed the gap, and the box-like one one moved a needle towards his neck until Shen stopped right before he reached the door.
"Oh, don't give him the anesthetic immediately. Just start with his legs. After those are removed, then you can give him the anesthetic for the other parts. I think it would be fitting if pain is the last memory he has."
Tai-Lung's yellow eyes grew as wide as grapefruits.
"Remove my legs?" he thought with panic. On command, the machine about to insert the needle froze, reversed its arm-like appendage, and placed the needle back on the tray.
Another humanoid machine near his legs lifted it's appendage, where a circular saw was located where a hand would normally be. The teeth on the saw were sharper than any tiger's or crocodiles. The saw began to spin. Slowly at first, but it spun faster and faster until it almost appeared to be spinning backwards.
Then, it slowly began to lower the saw towards Tai-Lung's left thigh. Tai-Lung began to fight against his bonds once again, desperately trying to escape. But there was nothing he could do. The bonds wouldn't let him go, and there would be no one to rescue him at the very last second, like all the stories told.
"No," Tai-Lung grunted. But the saw just got closer and closer.
"NOOO!" Tai-Lung shouted out.
Shen had just closed the elevator door when the saw made contact with Tai-Lung's skin. He could briefly hear the mutilated screaming through the door.
The peacock smiled as the elevator moved up only one level.
The door opened, and he stepped onto the 1000th level.
So yeah, that's why it's rated M.
Anyway, I hope I've peaked your interest, as I'm putting The Truth on hold for a little while as I work on this and The Empress. Like I said, I got this idea while sweeping the floor of my house with my earbuds stuck in my ears, pounding with music as it frequently does. This is kind of a stupid side-project, but I'm kind of growing fonder of it as I plan more of the outline.
See you next time, and don't forget to pick up your awesomeness on the way out!