Built on the dark side of a forested hill, the Viper Village is home to the Viper Clan lead by Great Master Viper. The village itself looks grandiose. With its elm wood rooftops, copper walls and frozen lakes, Viper Village has an enthralling atmosphere. The main attraction is the dancing stage, which was built 50 years ago and designed by snakes themselves.
Viper Village has a wounded economy because of the Peacock Army, which is mainly supported by weaponsmithing, woodcrafting and armorsmithing. But their biggest strengths are complex crafting and advanced medicine. However, outside of the legendary viper family, Viper Village lacks people skilled in battle. This is why Lord Shen did not deem necessary to install his army's presence into it.
Despite its strengths and weaknesses, Viper Village is most likely headed towards a booming future under the leadership of Great Master Viper. But this remains to be seen. All its people can do is pray that the Peacock Army won't turn its attention toward it.
Master Viper stood in her home's garden, watching the clear blue sky along with the few clouds that came with it. Feeling the fresh summer breeze brushing against her scales. Such peaceful atmosphere would normally make the master of Snake Style feel relaxed and happy. But so was not the case that day.
Her thoughts were directed toward the crushing defeat she and her friends sustained six months ago in Gongmen. Despite their best efforts and getting backup from famous Masters like Croc and Ox - and even Shifu himself - they were not able to stop Lord Shen and his army. Their Kung Fu was no match for the peacock's devastating weapon that shot fire and created explosions. Defeat would be the only outcome.
The Masters' failure did not only cost them the life of the Dragon Warrior but also the freedom of all of their beloved country. Viper could still remember how heartbroken her dear sister, Master Tigress, ended up after losing her closest friend. She even considered staying behind and allowing Shen to finish her off. Her sister would have died, had Shifu not slapped some sense into her.
She and her friends had no time to mourn Po's lost, however, for they had to run into hiding. They knew the Peacock Army would start riding every village soon and had to reach the Valley of Peace as fast as they could. After packing up their things, Shifu announced that they had no choice but to separate, go their own ways, and vanish from the face of society. Not a single one of them loved that plan... but it was their only chance of reclaiming China one day. So, while each of her friends left to go their own way, Viper returned to her home village and to the warmth of her family.
She did not know where her friends decided to go since they judged better to keep their locations hidden. That way, if Shen managed to capture one of them, he or she wouldn't be able to tell him where the others were. The simple thought of one of her friends getting tortured to reveal a location made Viper tremble in disgust. One day, she would find this cursed peacock and make him regret killing her friend!
"Viper, sweetie?"
The now former master turned around to the sound of her mother. This last one stood in the entrance way with a look of concern on her face. Lilly, her name, looked a lot like her daughter in term of appearance if one ignored the slightly darker color of her scales. When compared, one could easily tell the mother was older but still beautiful nonetheless. Viper got a lot from her... except for her fangs. Lilly always told her daughter that she was a beautiful snake despite her lacking asset, but Viper got constantly reminded that a snake with no venom is not a true snake. So... despite her mother's comforting words, Viper still had some doubts about her beauty.
"Yes, mother?"
"I made us some tea. Why don't you come to share a little cup with me?"
Even though she wasn't particularly thirsty, sharing a cup of tea with her mother sounded better to Viper than staying alone outside the house and thinking about her painful memories. "Sure, tea sounds nice." Viper slithered past her mother and inside her home.
When she returned to her home, six months ago, Viper's heart got filled with joy upon discovering her old house did not change one bit since the day she left to join the Jade Palace as one of the Furious Five. She never regretted her decision: the Five and Po ended up becoming part of her family as well. But that did not prevent her from missing her old one. Of course, she always gave and received messages from them to learn about how they were doing... but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person. When she returned to Viper Village after separating herself from her co-Furious Five friends, her parents welcomed her with open arms and she would forever be grateful for it.
The two snakes arrived in the dining room which also served as the kitchen where a kettle filled with hot tea and two cups were lying on a table. Lilly poured some tea into each cup, Viper sniffing the sweet smell of mint-flavored tea. The mother and daughter started drinking in silence, the latter not really having any conversation idea in mind. This changed when the former noticed the few scratches and bruises on her daughter's sides.
"You have been training hard with your father again?"
"Yes," Viper confirmed after finishing her sip of her cup. "It's really hard, but I'll be ready soon."
"Ready for what, sweetie?"
Viper's eyes changed to reflect a deep hatred. "Ready to face Lord Shen and put an end to his reign once and for all."
Lilly sighed sadly. She did not like to hear her daughter talk out of hatred like this. "Viper, my dear, you shouldn't focus only on Lord Shen. This will turn into an obsession that could lead you to your fall."
"Are you saying that the Peacock Army cannot be stopped and we should be okay with it, mother?"
"It is not that I don't think they can't be stopped, my daughter." Lilly marked a pause to look at the kitchen's window and back at Viper. "It's just that I think it might not be your destiny to stop them."
"But I can't just stand there doing nothing, mother!" Viper seriously said with slamming her cup on the table. But her mother did not flinch. "I have to stop Lord Shen before he can kill more innocents! And make him pay for what he did to us! What he did to Po..."
"Will you feel satisfied after getting your revenge?"
Viper looked down. It's true that killing Shen would not bring back her lost friends... but she couldn't just let him rule over China as he pleased, could she? Before this conversation could go further, the house's door slid open and in walked Viper's father. Great Master Viper himself. The years caught up with the old snake, one could tell it with the long eyebrows and mustache on his face (though how hair could grow up on a snake's body remained a mystery). However, thinking his age made him weak would be a mistake - many bandits and criminals found it the hard way.
"Viper!" the legendary master said with a look of hurry on his face. "Come with me quickly! We're under attack!"
Viper quickly let go of her tea cup and advanced toward her father. "Attack? Who's attacking us, father?"
The old snake narrowed his eyes. "It's the Peacock Army, my daughter."
Viper instantly widened her turquoise eyes. The Peacock Army was here, in their village?! The day they had feared finally arrived. Shen decided to turn his attention to Viper Village and claim it for himself. No! He already took too much! He certainly would not take Viper's home - she wouldn't let him do without a fight! The former master narrowed her eyes and slithered toward her father. "I'm ready! Let us go, father!"
Great Master Viper nodded before looking at his wife. "Stay here and hide yourself, my dear. Viper and I will come back soon!"
As her husband and daughter slithered out of the house and toward the mountains, Lilly could not help but sigh in sadness and worry. "Be careful, Viper..."
Upon arriving in the thick forest mountains, Viper and her father got a good view of the Peacock Army's battalion heading their way. Tens of wolves armored and holding weapons as if they were about to lay siege to Imperial City. However, the two snakes had an advantage these cruel monsters didn't; they knew the field by heart and had the idea to set traps all around the forest in case of an invasion like this one.
The Battalion separated into two divisions - probably to cover up more grounds - and Great Master Viper instructed his daughter to take the one heading toward their zone with the most traps while he took care of the other. While Viper did make a lot of progress during her time at the Jade Palace, she knew her father was still the strongest master to ever lead her clan. She trusted him to take down a whole regiment of fancy-equipped wolves.
After parting ways with her father, Viper slithered down the mountain to track down her division of wolves. She kicked the confrontation off by setting off some explosives hidden on the mountain's top and make an avalanche of mud burry at least half of the wolves. Then, leading them into the forest, she used her stealth skills to incapacitate most of them and also lured others into traps that broke their bones and made their blood flow. Viper did not like this sight, but they didn't really leave her a choice, did they?
After what felt like hours to her, Viper ultimately defeated the division of wolves. Canine bodies laying everywhere with ugly injuries and blood flowing on the ground. In moments like this, Viper wished she could use her venom and knock them out instead of being forced to hurt them like this. Even if they did deserve it... it just felt wrong.
The reptile panted in exhaustion and wiped sweat from her forehead with her tail. The fight lasted longer than she expected and drained quite the energy out of her. She hoped her father fared better than she did against his own division. However, before she could leave to go check it out, a familiar sound of clicking metal and sarcastic clapping resonated behind her.
"Bravo, bravo. Very impressive. I must admit I wasn't expecting such a feat from a mere serpent woman."
Gulping and knowing she wouldn't like what she would see, Viper slowly turned around. Her turquoise eyes widened for not too far from her stood a familiar white-feathered avian.
"You..."
Author's note: As I said in my Legend Of Zelda fanfiction, do not worry; I did not lose interest in this story. It's just that I left with my mother on a 10-days vacation and wasn't able to access this site during that time. However, it did give me a lot of time to get inspired and make some planning. I have many ideas rumbling inside this little mind of mine right now.
I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Don't hesitate to let me know if I made mistakes and constructive reviews are welcome too. May the gods watch over you all.
