Hello there!
Here Frozenwolfheart and I are again, bringing you what we certainly hope is a good chapter! Before we get started, thank you to everyone who's supported this story so far! It really means a lot.
(Note: yes, the first scene of the chapter does go with the story)
On with the show!
Meanwhile
"No, I told you time and time again, we're not doing it. That's it. End of discussion."
"Oh, come on, but you're so good at it! I mean, remember that one time where that one bartender pulled out a knife, but you just turned and stared that little bitch back into his place?"
The buck across the table, leaning back in his seat with his legs stretched across the whole of the seat and his back leaning against the wall, smiled and gave a nervous sort of chuckle.
"Well, sure, but come on, things ain't always gonna happen like that all the friggin' time. I mean, you piss off the wrong dude, and next thing you know you got a big-ass knife shoved straight up your ass! They some crazy-ass bitches in this world!"
The other buck on the left, his elbows leaning on the table on each side of his half-eaten meal, leaned forward.
"Hell, I know that man, but we gotta face the facts. And the fact is, we ain't got enough money to last us to your cousin's! We need just one more good stick-up if we wanna get there."
The buck on the right rolled his eyes but the other interjected before he could add anything. "Just one! That's it! Then we'll never have to be a couple of low-life, thieving jackasses, just like we are right now!"
"But a restaurant, a friggin' restaurant?"
"What do you want to do, a kung-fu temple?"
"No, I'm just illustrating the point that we ain't got no pride, no damn pride at all. I mean, of all the places in this world, and we decide to rob a restaurant? Yeah, okay, I'd like to be able to look back on these days when my ass is in my deathbed and not see a total loser, okay?"
"Man, forget your dumbass pride. Come on, remember what we used to say?"
The buck on the right submitted, placing one hoof under his chin and the other around his liquor bottle, lifting it up to his friend's.
"Shove the pride up your ass-"
"-And shove the kid's candy money in your pocket."
They both tapped their bottles together with a clink and took big gulps from their bottles. The liquid burned their throats, but it made them feel better about their lives, so they made sure to drink it on a regular basis.
This most enlightening conversation was happening in a bar and restaurant on the side of a back road nearby a small farming community. The road itself was in the middle of nowhere, although, if you knew where to turn, one might just find themselves on the path to somewhere. Many local farmers came to this bar- the only one to be found around the town- to refresh themselves after a long, hard day's work in the fields. And while travelers weren't exactly common, one or two every month or so wasn't so strange, so few paid attention when a pair of rough-looking young deer bucks walked in, their eyes darting all over the small, yet comfortable joint, looking at the type of people that occupied the bar.
After a few moments of silence, the buck on the right began to shake his head as his confidence wavered.
"Ahh, I just don't know man. You ever hear about that guy who robbed the Emperor?"
"The Emperor's Palace?"
"Hmm-hmm."
The buck on the left scooted forward and leaned his ear in close, as this was news to him.
"No, man, what happened?"
"Oh, I'll tell you what happened. The dude was a master, you know, I mean, he didn't mess around. He was good. But when he tried to rob the Emperor's palace in the middle of the night, I think the Emperor's kid or something saw the guy. Or maybe it was a servant or something. Ah, I don't remember, there's so many friggin' rumors about it it's pitiful, but I know this: they cut that bastard's head right off and hung it outside so just other thieves wouldn't be so keen to set their sights on the place. Legend says his head's still there, hangin' by the front gates, nothing but a dried up skull by now. A master; now's he dead, and for what?"
The buck on the left leaned back in his chair with a surprised look.
"His head?"
His friend nodded.
"Is it really nothin' but a skull now?"
The buck on the right, now getting in a groove, leaned forward and tapped his hoof on the table as he made his point.
"Man, I don't know nothing about that dude's head, I- anyway, I don't care, the point's not the head, my friggin' point is that all it takes is one bad day in our business, and you're done! And I'm sayin', I'm just sayin', I'd really like to live the rest of my life. And recently, everytime we do this, I just cain't help but feeling we making a bad decision."
The buck on the left spread his arms out wide. "Look around! Look at these people!"
His friend did so, and saw nothing but some old farmers, a simple looking fox on the other side of the counter, and some guy shoved in a corner, getting as drunk as possible.
He sighed. His friend took advantage of the other's realization. "You see!?"
The buck on the right sighed. "Fine. It'll be easy money. But I swear to the gods, this is the last one!"
His friend held his hooves in the air in mock defeat. "Hey, hey, you said you wanna go clean, I said okay, you said your cousin could give us a legit job, I said okay, but this time I need you to say okay, okay?"
The buck on the right took in a deep breath. "Okay." He then chuckled. "Man, it's some messed up shit, ain't it?"
His laughter was infectious, and it spread to his friend as he chuckled along. "What is?"
"I mean, we're doing this shit to go clean, and we gotta rob a restaurant to get it!"
"Well, every man has his own path."
"Amen."
"On three?"
"Why wait?"
Smiling, both bucks reached into their bags and pulled out a pair of short swords, not strong enough for combat but plenty enough to scare normal citizens. They jumped up on the table and swung their blades around.
"Alright, everybody, this is a robbery! Put your paws, claws, hooves, or whatever the hell you got on your head and freeze!"
The Valley Hospital
The guest room of the Valley hospital may not have seemed like the ideal place for a meeting between the likes of Master Ox, Grandmaster Viper, or the Soothsayer of Gongmen City, but it served as one nevertheless. It was filled with sofas and chairs that lined the walls, and various tables, some round, some square, some big, some small, scattered around the middle of the large room. A few windows let in some sunlight from the early day, but a few candles were still placed on the tables for additional light.
Peng, Lianmin, Master Ox, Grandmaster Viper, and the Soothsayer sat around one of the round tables, a moment of solemn silence filling the air as they sat down. Mr. Ping, Li Shan, and Lei Lei had been sent to stay with Tigress for a while, so they were absent from the meeting.
Master Ox folded his hooves on the table and cleared his throat.
"Well, I think we all have a pretty good idea of what the issue is."
This comment was met with some nods of agreement or, in Grandmaster Viper's case, a raised brow. When he had inquired as to what had happened, Master Ox had told him everything. To say he was shocked was an understatement, but the old man had spent his life as a warrior, and he quickly recovered his wits as he began to realize what this could mean for the Valley of Peace.
"Yes, we all know, but what do you propose we do?" Lianmin asked. "I mean, we don't know where the people who did this are. We don't know where to look, we don't know where to start, and quite frankly, we don't know what to do."
Before Ox could respond, the Soothsayer spoke up. "The problem stems down to this: China just lost some of its greatest defenders."
There was a brief moment of silence as everyone acknowledged that fact.
"Yes," Grandmaster Viper replied. "Yes, it has. The gods may have spared my daughter and Master Tigress, but with my daughter injured and Master Tigress pregnant with the Dragon Warrior's child? This valley is left nearly defenseless. If the bandit clans orchestrated this attack, then they surely know the results. It will not be long before they capitalize on this new opportunity."
The Soothsayer nodded. "Yes. You're right. And while we all have duties elsewhere, we cannot leave the people of this valley to be overrun."
"And we also can't ignore the part Master Tigress may still have to play," Lianmin interjected. This comment immediately silenced the group as they turned to look at her. Whereas everyone at the table was leaning forward, focused on the conversation at hand, Lianmin had been leaning back in her chair, her paw gripping her chin in thought.
The Soothsayer glanced at Lianmin and deeply wished she hadn't said that. She locked eyes with the leopardess, and they simply stared at each other, each trying to gain the upper hand in a silent battle. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Viper seemed confused.
"Master Tigress? What role? What do you mean?"
Lianmin, still staring at the Soothsayer, gestured to the old snake. "Go on. Why don't you tell him about your little visions? Why don't you tell him what you've seen?"
Grandmaster Viper turned his gaze to the old goat, who now found herself in a precarious situation. Knowing that she had no choice but to say it out loud, the Soothsayer answered the snake's curious looks with-
"I am a soothsayer. Yes, I've looked into the possible futures that could arise out of what has happened here." She paused for a moment as she tried to select the right words.
"And…?" Grandmaster Viper prompted.
"And Master Tigress… has a role to play in many of those possible futures."
Beginning to grow impatient, the old snake continued to prompt her. "What kind of futures?"
The Soothsayer was silent for a few seconds, before answering with, "Grandmaster Viper, Tigress has just lost her family. She's lost her brothers, father, and husband. How would you feel right now?"
"I would be devastated."
"And so it is with her. At the moment. But if you knew your family was murdered, how would you feel after you got over your initial grief?"
A moment of silence.
"Well, I suppose I'd want justice brought down on the people who were responsible."
Breaking her eye contact with Lianmin since they first made it, the Soothsayer turned to look at Grandmaster Viper with a sad smile.
"Justice?"
The master's eyes fell to the floor.
"Vengeance," he softly answered.
"Vengeance," she echoed. "And so it will be."
"But she's pregnant," Ox intervened. "She has nine months before she can try to carry that vengeance out."
"Even worse," Lianmin answered. "Now she can live every moment knowing her child will be fatherless for the next nine months. A feeling which I doubt will fade with time."
There was yet another brief moment of silence.
"Your point?" the Soothsayer asked.
Lianmin answered the question by leaning forward and slamming her paw on the table, making most of the group flinch in surprise.
"I'M SICK OF YOUR RIDDLES, GET TO THE FUCKING POINT!"
Eyes went wide at the outburst, the Soothsayer's most of all. But before they had a chance to respond to it, Lianmin continued.
"What vengeance!? What!? Is!? She!? Going!? To!? Do!? Please, tell us right now, because I'm the fool who let a psycho kill her husband, and if she's going to go nuts like you say she is, I think I should find a damn good place to hide, don't you!?"
Master Ox was the first to gather his wits.
"Ma'am! How can you speak to us like that!?"
"I'm tired of the riddles, of the secrets, of the possibilities! I need to know what's going to happen right now!"
Master Ox was about to respond, but the Soothsayer held her hoof up, silencing him, a solemn look on her face.
"For the last time, ma'am, I don't know!" she answered, her voice raising above its usual steady level. "I really wish I knew what was going to happen every second of every day, but if I really did, then we wouldn't be here talking about this! And the pandas wouldn't be endangered! And so many people wouldn't be DEAD! But they are! Okay! They are!"
Before the situation could grow in tension, Grandmaster Viper decided to intervene.
"Ladies! We are not enemies! And allow me to tell you this: we have a lot of real enemies out there just waiting to launch their attack on this Valley! And if we don't look out for each other, then… then who will?"
The wise words silenced the group. Everyone's eyes fell down, and Lianmin was beginning to feel the guilt creep up on her. She was normally so calm, so composed. She was very good at keeping her emotions from becoming apparent to others, but sometimes it was too much for even her. And with the stakes that were now on the table, there was nothing that could be left to chance.
"Alright. Alright. I just... " Lianmin sighed. "What do you mean by 'vengeance?'"
There was a delay before the Soothsayer answered. "Vengeance on everyone. Not only on the people who killed her family, but on the whole world. After all, her family wouldn't be dead if they hadn't been killing the bandit members from the start. How long do you think it will take for her to come to that same conclusion?"
"So… she's going to go and murder tons of bandits?"
"By herself? No, it's not possible, and she knows it's not possible. But if one were to… seize control of a considerable force…"
Beginning to sense yet more riddles, Lianmin interrupted again. "What kind of force? Who would agree to follow someone like that?"
"That is the limit of my knowledge. All I know is that she has the potential to gain power. A lot of it. And with all the pain she's going through, it won't take long before she uses that power to make others feel that pain."
Lianmin shrugged. "Okay. That's fine. So she'll cause pain. But if you're so certain of this, why can't we simply solve the problem before it ever starts?"
Grandmaster Viper leaned forward in his seat. "You can't mean-"
"Yes, I can! If Master Tigress is going to be this… this apocalyptic threat that you claim her to be, then how can we just sit here and let it happen?"
The Soothsayer leaned back in her chair, growing tired of arguing with the stubborn leopardess.
"Tell me. What would you have us do?"
Lianmin suddenly paused as she realized how the Soothsayer had just turned the tables on her, forcing her to say the words. But determined not to lose this fight between her and the goat, she defiantly set her jaw.
"If it comes down to innocent lives as you claim, or her life? It doesn't seem like much of a contest to me."
But the Soothsayer wasn't satisfied, as she wanted her to hear herself say the words.
"And you would…?
The two once again locked in their staring contest, Lianmin answered-
"Whatever has to be done."
"Examples, please."
"I do believe Chor-Gom prison is short one member."
"And you would have her imprisoned for something she hasn't done? You would do that? Because of something she might do? I'm afraid that's not how the law works. And I'm sure it will go well with the people of the Valley. And not to mention the fact that that same idea worked so well for Tai Lung."
Beginning to lose her temper again, Lianmin threw her paws up in the air.
"What!? What!? Do you want to hear the words come out of my mouth!? Fine! If she's going to be such a terrible danger as you say, I don't understand why we just can't kill her now!"
A shocked silence fell over the table as her words were digested by each member of the group. They almost couldn't believe their ears. Kill Master Tigress? It seemed a sin to think of such things, especially after what she had just been through.
But in the back of the Soothsayer's mind, there was a fear. It was small, but it was there. The fear that Lianmin was right. But she quickly pushed that aside.
She slowly nodded, a tear running down her cheek. "And… would you do it?"
Lianmin's ears flattened against her head as she realized the gravity of her own words.
"How? How would you do it? Hmm? Would you… sneak in her room in her sleep? Kill her then? Just like Croc? Hmm?"
When Lianmin continued her silence, the Soothsayer's eyes widened in seriousness and she spoke through clenched teeth.
"I'm... asking... you... a... question. Would you murder Master Tigress in her sleep?"
After a few moments of a tense silence, Lianmin slowly shook her head and quietly whispered.
"No."
"Ah. That's good. I'm very glad to hear that. I'm glad to know that you wouldn't-"
"You would judge me for trying to save the lives that you claim she will endanger?"
"I would judge you for murdering an innocent person!"
"You're the one who says she'll go nuts! What the fuck good do your visions do if they only confuse us!? We wouldn't be having this conversation if you just kept your hallucinations to yourself and let the rest of us have some peace!"
Grandmaster Viper spoke up, sensing tensions boiling over once again.
"That's enough! No one's doing anything until we've thought about it." When he looked at the two verbal combatants and saw the looks on their faces, he added, "And until we're all in a much better frame of mind to think."
Finally, for the first time since the conversation had begun, Peng spoke up.
"What about the goat?" he quietly asked the crowd, although the way he was fiddling with his fingers on the table made it seem like he was talking to himself. Regardless of whether he was or not, it produced the desired effect of getting the topic off of Master Tigress.
The words especially had an effect on the Soothsayer and his mother. Two people who had him in their grasp, yet either let him go willingly or were too blind to see him for what he was.
The leopardess sadly shook her head, recalling Duan Jing's words while they were held prisoner at his camp. "There's no point in looking for him anymore. He started out as some crazed lunatic with a new weapon, and the bandits just used him. I don't even know if they'll let him live now that his purpose is served."
"Okay then," Peng answered. "And what about the Valley? We were talking about it before we got on our little… side-tangent. We have to help it somehow. We can't abandon this place for the bandits to step on."
There was a silence as no one had an immediate answer to the question. Finally, Grandmaster Viper spoke up.
"I have been blessed by the gods with many years upon the mortal realm, and I have collected quite a number of acquaintances. I know many masters, each with their own temples. I may be able to contact some and persuade them to come and help, but that will only work for a short time, as they and their students all have their own people they're sworn to protect."
"I know a few other masters as well," Ox added, "But if they can't stay, I don't see the point of them coming at all. The bandit clans would just wait them out. And even if they force them to wait long enough for Master Tigress and Viper to fully heal, I still don't believe the two of them will be enough to defend the Valley."
Peng, gently tapping his finger on the table, spoke up. "Maybe… maybe they wouldn't have to."
To the group, Peng was a child, and they hadn't been taking his presence very seriously, but if he had their curiosity before, he now had their attention.
"What do you mean?" Grandmaster Viper asked, his brow furrowing.
"Okay, I know this isn't the best idea, but about only a year ago, I used to run a sort of... amateur kung-fu fight club. My friend still runs it, and I'm sure there's some members on it right now that would be willing to come here to be trained by some real masters."
His words were met with an uncomfortable silence.
"You want us to train a bunch of teenagers? A bunch of street-life living teenagers?" Master Ox asked.
Peng gave a vague gesture with his paw before he spoke. "The Dragon Warrior served noodles in some restaurant. Not cooked. Served."
"The Dragon Warrior was chosen by Grandmaster Oogway, okay? That turtle created kung-fu. So when he chose someone, he didn't make mistakes."
"I don't know. It's looking like a mistake to me now."
"You would doubt Oogway's wisdom!? You!? You, who let his murderer escape you!?"
Peng held his ground on the intimidating ox, but he could see next to him, the Soothsayer's gaze fell to the floor.
Lianmin leaned forward, as she already felt guilty enough for her previous two outbursts. She didn't want Peng to feel the same way after the worsening conversation.
"Look, I agree, it's not the best of ideas, but let's face it, we don't have many others."
"She's right," the Soothsayer quietly added.
Lianmin quickly jumped on the opportunity, pointing at the Soothsayer. "You see? She just agreed with me on something. So it must mean it's a pretty good idea."
There was a moment of hesitation from Master Ox. He sat there in his chair, weighing the options in his mind. Finally, he made his decision.
"These teenagers: are they skilled?"
Peng didn't really know the answer to that question, as he had no idea who was still in the club and who wasn't. But he knew now wasn't a good time to back down or show hesitation.
"They are."
Grandmaster Viper nodded. "Very well. Oh, and Master Ox?"
The mentioned individual raised his brow.
"I believe you mentioned you promised the citizens of this Valley a meeting in the Jade Palace Courtyard to tell them what your plans were."
Master Ox nodded.
"And what will you tell them?"
He sighed as he admitted defeat. "I'll tell them we're bringing in other masters to train a new generation of protectors."
The old snake nodded. "That works."
After not having spoken for a little while, the Soothsayer added.
"And I believe a funeral is in order."
A grim silence filled the room.
"But I don't think Master Tigress should attend," the Soothsayer added to her own words.
Master Ox nodded. "Yes, I think you're right." He suddenly paused, and the Soothsayer looked up at him.
"What?"
"I just realized… Master Tigress. She's pregnant. Who's going to help her through it?"
Grandmaster Viper stepped in. "I've been giving some thought to that as well. You see, since my daughter is injured, I was thinking about taking her home with me. Just so we can take care of her as she heals. But I was also thinking… why not take Master Tigress with us? She'll need all the help she can get, especially during the latter months of her pregnancy. And even if I don't know her personally, my daughter has sent me enough letters telling me about her friends to let me know that she loves Master Tigress. And if they're sisters, then that makes us family. Perhaps if she had a family around her-" he stole a glance at Lianmin. "-Then perhaps she might not be so inclined to think… certain thoughts. Perhaps we could help her on the right path as she and my daughter sort out how they will move forward with their lives, together."
Everyone sat in their seats, running his words through their heads. Eventually, the old snake's proposal was met with nods or other signs of approval.
"Yeah," Lianmin slowly said. "That… that might work."
Grandmaster Viper turned to look at Lianmin and Peng.
"And what about you two?"
Lianmin raised her brow. "What about us?"
"What will you do?"
His question was met as the two answered at the same time.
"We have to go back to-"
"We're staying with the new recruits-"
The mother and son paused as they both realized for the first time that they were on two very different pages of a very unhappy book.
Lianmin turned to look at Peng.
"What are you talking about? We have no business in this place. We have duties in Ningjang. We're sworn to protect those people."
"If the bandits take this Valley over, we'll have much bigger issues than petty criminals running through the streets. We have to help the new trainees, and I have plenty that I can still learn about kung-fu. And while we're doing this, maybe you can learn it too-"
Lianmin held her paw up, stopping him in his tracks.
"We'll have this conversation another time." She turned back to Grandmaster Viper. "You would be willing to house Master Tigress for nine months?"
The old snake gave a sad smile. "Even if we didn't find ourselves in our current situation, my family is always welcome in my house."
Master Ox nodded. "Yes, it makes sense. The change of scenery, surrounded by friends... It could help her greatly. And the presence of other kung-fu masters here would hold off any immediate bandit attack. And… maybe, just maybe, these 'new recruits' as you call them-" Ox gestured over to Peng, "Some of them just might have what it takes."
The Soothsayer looked up, as her eyes had occupied the table in front of her for the past few minutes. For the first time since Master Croc had been killed, she seemed to have a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Perhaps things aren't so bad after all."
Lianmin gave a soft chuckle. In a demonstration of sincere apology, she leaned over the table and gently grasped the goat's hoof in her paw. They looked up at each other, both their eyes glistening with tears.
"I hope to the gods you're right."
Viper's Room
The first thing Viper could recall was pain.
It was everywhere.
Running along the entire length of her body, it seemed as if every bone ached with the weight of the world and every muscle burned like a hot iron was pressed on every single one of them. She slowly opened her eyes, but the light flooded her vision, and she was forced to close them again. Now bracing herself, she attempted once more to open her eyes, doing so at a much slower pace.
She could tell that she was in a bed that was clearly made for larger people, but it served its purpose. She could tell her head was resting on a very small pillow made for people more her size, and next to the bed was a night stand with a single candle burning its wax. The room was rather dark, but she could make out the wall on the other end.
She tried to pick her head up so she could take a look around, but as soon as she did, white-hot daggers seemed to pierce her neck, and she merely whimpered in pain as she kept her position, with her head facing to the side.
However, the whimper caught someone's attention, as she suddenly heard someone move across the room. She wished she could see who was coming, and it briefly registered in her mind that the person coming towards her didn't have footsteps, but made a dragging sound across the floor.
Slithering into her narrow field of view, an old snake's head slowly rose up with a sad smile on his face.
"F…F… Father?" Viper weakly groaned.
The old snake nodded, leaning his face close to his daughter's. "Yes, my child. I'm here." He picked up the tip of his tail and gently began to caress his daughter's face. Viper gently closed her eyes as she took in the moment, glad that her father was here with her right now, especially after…
Her eyes shot back open. "The building!" she tried to shout, but it came out as a weak wheeze. "We… that goat… and Po… it just… it just…"
Her father softly held the tip of his tail to his lips as he shushed her words.
"What… what happened?" she managed to get out.
She could see the pain on her father's face as he began to stroke her face once again. He took in a deep breath as he prepared to deliver the news.
"Viper, my little girl… your friends… your friends…"
"What?" Viper asked, her voice cracking as she began to realize it.
"Except for Master Tigress, your friends are all… dead."
Viper went silent for a few seconds, trying to process the words. It didn't seem possible. She had just been at the wedding, chasing down the bastard that shot Po. She had just been there, and all of a sudden, there had been a terrible noise and she now found herself in this room. It happened that quickly. Her friends- no, her family- had been alive just a few seconds ago. How could they all just be gone now?
But she saw the look in her father's eyes and knew he wasn't lying. They were really dead. Viper could feel the sobs building up within her, but she knew that if she began to sob her body would pay the price. But it mattered not. The sobs came anyway, each inhale and exhale burning her front and backsides.
Unlike Tigress, Viper did not wail or scream. She sobbed quietly, inaudible to anyone outside the closed door. Her father leaned in and gently wrapped his tail around her, tears silently running down his face.
Somewhere In A Bar
The bartender, a middle-aged fox, was slowly putting what little profits he had gathered during the day and put it in the bag that was being most courteously held open for him by one of the bucks.
"Come on, come on!" the buck anxiously prompted. Being the more relaxed out of the pair, he knew his friend did not share the same confidence, and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible so they could go on their way to his cousin's.
The people who had chosen to eat or drink at the restaurant / bar now fearfully leaned over their tables, their appendages held up over their heads and their heads over the table.
However, as the nervous buck who was holding his blade up to the bartender as he put coins in his friend's bag looked around, he saw one customer not obeying their commands. Over by the corner, in a booth by himself, was a goat who was currently in the midst of holding the tip of a bottle over his lips, trying to get the last drops out of the bottle.
The buck was irritated at this. It wasn't as if he were trying to stop them or anything, but the way he was casually going about his business as if nothing major was happening angered the buck. He quietly whispered to his friend-
"Hey, check out this dude over here."
The buck holding the bag open turned his head and took in the sight. Meanwhile, even though all was quiet in the restaurant and their words were clearly heard by everyone inside, the person by the booth didn't seem to heed their words, as he didn't bother turning around.
"What the hell? Go and teach his dumbass some manners, please."
The buck with the sword walked over to the booth with his sword held out in front of him. When he came into view, he saw a young goat with pale white fur, who only had one horn and a stump where the other should have been. He had the empty bottle clutched in one hoof and a bag clutched in the other in his seat. There was already one empty bottle in front of him, and there were a few more full ones just ready to be consumed.
"Hey, you!" the buck shouted as the goat was reaching over for another bottle and twisting the cap open. Upon being called upon, he lazily glanced up, and the buck could clearly see in the lack of concern eyes that he was very drunk. No, not drunk, not yet at least, as he hadn't drank that much yet. There was something else wrong with the goat, but the buck chose not to take the time to contemplate what it was.
The buck held up his sword to the goat's face. "You hear me!? Hooves on your head and head on the table!"
The goat merely took another sip from his bottle, staring forward and ignoring the sword that was being pointed at the side of his face.
Getting angry at being given the silent treatment, the buck swung his small blade and shattered the bottles on the goat's table, sure that that would get his attention.
It did have the desired effect, as the goat finally put the bottle in his hoof down and looked up at the buck.
"What's the matter with you, huh? You wanna get stabbed? 'Cause I'll stab you right in the face, bitch!"
The words seemed to have an effect on the goat, as he narrowed his eyes. As the buck stared into the goat's blue eyes, he suddenly realized just how cold and empty his gaze was. The goat slowly put his bag out from next to him and onto his lap, but the buck quickly shouted-
"I said freeze! What you trying to do anyway, huh? What's in the bag?
For the first time, the goat spoke. His voice was quiet, but he spoke with an amazing clarity for someone who had finished off a bottle as fast as he just had.
"My dirty underwear," he calmly replied.
The buck was taken aback by his victim's boldness. He held the point of the blade ever-closer to the goat's face.
"You messin' with me!? You think that shit's funny!?"
"Not really."
"You know what, comedy genius, open it up."
Suddenly, the goat clutched the bag to his body in a way that made the buck want to see what was inside even more.
"Ahh, what you hiding in there, huh? Why don't you just open it up and show us?"
"No," he softly replied, his eyes glued to the buck's.
The buck now pressed the tip of the cold blade on the goat's neck. "You're gonna open it up right now or I'll-"
"-Kill me?" the goat finished for him, seemingly unimpressed. "I tried that already."
Suddenly, an old farmer shouted out from somewhere in the restaurant-
"Just give him what he wants, or you'll get us all killed!"
Suddenly, the goat leaned to the side just a little so he could see the old farmer around the buck right in front of him.
"Shut the fuck up, old man, this isn't any of your damn business!" the goat suddenly belted out, exchanging his calm tone for a much angrier one. The outburst caused the buck by the counter to leave it and come and back his friend up, still holding the sword in the direction of the bartender just so he didn't try anything funny.
"What's going on here!?"
"I don't know. It seems like we got a brave soul on our hooves."
"Well, take his bag and let's get the hell out of here."
The buck holding the blade at Shao turned back to him and said, this time in a much calmer voice-
"Open the fucking bag right now."
When Shao continued to stare into the buck's eyes, he began to count down.
"Three!"
The goat was silent.
"Two! Come on! I ain't playing!"
Just as the buck was about to shout out one, the goat slowly raised his hooves in the air.
"Alright, alright, you win."
The buck gestured to the bag. "Open it."
The goat slowly moved his hooves forward to open the bag, placing them on the bag's entrance and untying the knot holding it together. Meanwhile, his cold eyes were glued to the buck's the entire time, somehow making it seem as if he was in charge of the situation, and not the one with the sword.
Finally, the goat finished with the knot and slowly opened the bag, revealing a most curious object resting on top of a pile of wrinkled and dirt-stained clothes.
The buck narrowed his eyes at the curious wooden object.
"What is that thing?"
All of a sudden, the goat snatched the object from his bag, pointed it at the buck's foot, and pulled the trigger, all before the buck had the chance to comprehend what was going on.
BAM!
The buck's foot exploded with pain, and he collapsed on the floor, his small blade clattering to the floor. Everyone in the restaurant flinched from the noise, unsure of what it could have possibly been. But instead of running, the sound shocked them into place, their fear outweighing their sense.
The other buck who was still pointing his sword towards the bartender turned around and looked down at his friend with horror, who was clutching his foot with blood-soaked hooves, clearly in excruciating pain. He looked back up at the goat, who was absent-mindedly staring at the buck below him with the wooden object now smoking at the tip.
"What did you do!?" the buck shouted at him, getting his attention away from his friend. The goat looked up at the other buck, and the tip of his weapon slowly slid up until it was pointing at his torso. The buck had no desire to end up like his friend, so he dropped his sword on the ground and held his hooves up in the air. He may not have known what the goat had just done, or what that strange item was, but he saw his friend laying on the floor and put two and two together.
"Hey, man, we didn't mean nothing, j- just let us go, m-man."
The goat continued to stare at the two, that blank look still on his face. The seconds passed in the most uncomfortable of silences, as everyone in the bar expected the sound to go off again any second. But it didn't.
The goat looked back down at the buck at his feet, whose face was drenched with sweat and contorted in pain.
"Look at me," he softly said.
The buck ignored him, the pain causing his ears to ring with the sound the weapon had made.
"LOOK AT ME!" he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. This caused the buck to pay attention, as he understood that angering the goat further was probably not a good idea.
The goat now lowered the tip of the weapon right on the buck's forehead, right in between his horns. The buck slowly clasped his hooves together and quietly whispered-
"Please, please…"
"-Have you ever killed someone?" he asked, his frighteningly calm tone returning.
The buck quickly shook his head in truth.
"Really? That's interesting. You seemed so inclined to stab me in the face if I didn't open the bag."
"N-no, th-that was j-just talk."
"I see. Well, would you like to know what it's like?"
The buck began to hyperventilate, now fearing for his life. He quickly shook his head and his eyes filled with tears.
"No! No! I-I'm sorry ab-"
"Shut up! I asked you; would you like to know what it's like!?"
The buck really wasn't sure what to say, but it seemed as if he could get out of the situation faster if he simply said yes, so he slowly nodded his head.
"I'll tell you what it's like!" the goat continued. "When you kill somebody, you'll live the rest of your life in that one moment, trapped in it forever! You'll be destined to see the last look on the face that you killed! You'll spend every damn night thinking about it, just lying there as you want to die! And then when you do actually fall asleep, your dreams will turn into nightmares as all your mind wants to dream about is… that… one… moment. Forever."
In all honesty, the buck wasn't really paying attention to the goat's words, as he was much more focused on the object that he now understood to be a weapon pointed at his forehead. But he nodded as if he understood anyway.
"Now. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to go to a doctor and get that thing out of your foot. And then you and your friend here are going to never do something like this again. And if you ignore my words, or forget about them in a few years, I promise you that someone out there, maybe not me, but someone, will have the guts to stand up to filth like you, and they won't be nearly as nice as me. You got that?"
The buck, his face now streaked with tears, quickly shook his head in compliance, and the goat flicked the weapon up as a gesture to get up. The buck did so, his friend coming to his aid by allowing him to put his arm around him so he didn't have to stand on his wounded foot.
The goat gestured to the door. "Now get out of here."
The two bucks slowly turned and walked to the door, the wounded buck limping his way through the bar with the support of his friend. The wounded one was still sobbing with all he had just been through, and both were shaking. They finally got to the door, and without looking back, they pushed open the door and left.
Meanwhile, everyone in the bar was now more afraid of the goat with that weapon than with the bucks with the swords, so they remained in their places, with their appendages on their heads and their heads on the table.
The goat sensed the tension the bar, so he grabbed the single bottle he had placed on his table and stood up, throwing the weapon back in his bag on top of the clothes he went back to pick up after his attempt at suicide. He picked it up again and stood up, heading towards the door. As he passed the frightened bartender, he put his hoof on the counter, taking it away to reveal a few coins for his drinks.
The fox looked up in a mixture of shock and surprise as the goat walked out of the restaurant.
He opened the door and let it shut behind him.
And that's a wrap!
So, what did you guys think?
By the way, the little side-story of the two thieves in the bar was actually inspired from a rather common cliche within KFP stories: and that's the restaurant scene. I mean, how many KFP fanfics have you read where some bandits just happen to rob Mr. Ping's shop (of all places), but it just so happens that Po or Tigress or somebody that knows kung-fu is conveniently there to beat them to a pulp? I mean, the number of times that Mr. Ping has suffered attempted robberies across the fandom is insane.
So, I decided to make a scene like this of my own, but put my own personal spin on it. (Well, and I drew a little influence from a movie I saw for the first time just this week and then rewatched about five times to take notes on how to make good dialogues… If you can guess what movie it is in the reviews, then congrats, give yourself a cookie!)
Well, Frozenwolfheart and I sincerely hope you enjoyed the latest installment of this book!
Stay safe and keep being awesome!