Kung Fu Wolf: Rising of the Moon
Chapter 15: The Moon Spirit.
Hiro's P.O.V
I opened my eyes… which seemed like it should be a little unlikely now that I think about it.
I looked down at my chest where I know I had been impaled by the bandit leaders sword and saw no injury… no blood… not even a scar.
Huh… weird.
I looked at my surroundings and realized it just got weirder.
First thing I noticed, was that I wasn't at the quarry anymore. Could we have won and my friends moved me somewhere to be treated? If so why would they have put me in the middle of a wooded area? And why is the grass a pale blue…? The trees… made of crystal…? The river close by… was… liquid silver…?
"Where am I?" I asked no one in particular.
"I don't know, where are you?" No one answered back.
Everything was starting to get a little crazy, I didn't think too much of the disembodied, vaguely familiar, voice… I just kept talking.
"I think I'm lost." I said looking around at the unfamiliar landscape. Like I said earlier the trees looked like they were made of living crystal, the grass was a pale blue color, the river not too far from me looked like it was molten silver. I looked up and saw the sky, and oh my gods… the stars shone so brightly and so beautifully… it most seemed like a massive hoard of diamonds were flying above me. What is this place?
A light chuckle from behind me interrupted my thoughts. I turned around quickly, and a smile was plastered on my face as soon as I saw the old, kind hearted tortoise.
"Then may I show you the way?" Master Oogway asked.
I rushed forward and threw my arms around the old master, it was so reassuring to see a familiar face in a unfamiliar place…
Yes I know that rhymed, it was not intentional.
"What are you doing here master? And now that I think about it, what am I doing here?" I asked taking a step away from the Jade Palaces former grand master.
"Well I heard you were coming, so I decided to come and greet you Dragon Warrior." Well that was nice of him… coming where though?
"But where is here master?" I would kinda regret asking…
"Why, the spirit world of course." The old tortoise said with a smile.
….
….
What…?
"You mean I'm…. I'm…" I couldn't even get the last word out…
"Stone cold, I'm afraid."
I dropped to my knees. I was dead. Questions started to rush through my mind, the most important being, what is happening with my friends? And even more important than that…
What's happening with Tigress?
She was there, I was starting to remember, with me when I…
"Now I know this is a bit of a shock for you young one." Yeah no kidding. " but right now there is someone you need to meet." I looked up at Master Oogway and slowly nodded. I wasn't gonna argue with him right now, I don't think I could even if I wanted to. I just got to my feet and followed the old sage.
As we walked Master Oogway asked me about what had happened since his… uh, ascension… so I told him everything that happened, me defeating Tai Lung, Shifu finally learning how to relax, the Sapphire Palace masters visit, the new mission, and of course, my death. The story of my adventures seemed to amuse the old man, except the part about me dying of course.
"I am so pleased to hear that Shifu has found inner peace, I was starting to worry." Oogway said as we approached a clearing, in the center of which stood a figure clad in white. "And to hear that Tigress is beginning to loosen up truly warms my heart." The old sage stopped, turned and put his hand on my shoulder. "It was truly a blessing that the universe brought you to the Jade Palace, you have done so much for them in so little time. I pray you will continue doing so."
Continue? Wouldn't I still have to be alive for that? Or maybe I could come back as a ghost, that might be a little fun.
We entered the clearing and approached the the figure standing in the center. As we got closer I noticed the figure stated to look more feminine… and familiar. Once we were a few feet away I realized… this was the woman from my dream a few nights earlier.
Like before the female wolf was dressed in an extremely fancy white dress, one that I'm sure the Empress would be very envious of, her fur looked soft as cloud, and was white as freshly fallen snow, and her eyes were an enchanting silver… but it was her voice that almost brought tears to my eyes. A voice that I had a feeling of hearing before… I just don't remember where.
"I have brought him my lady." Master Oogway said with a bow. I bowed as well, even though I didn't know who this woman was, if Master Oogway was bowing to her like this, she had to be a big deal.
The lady in white turned to us with a smile, a smile full of kindness, happiness, and...love?
"Thank you Master Oogway. I am very grateful to you for bringing him to me." Master Oogway bowed a little deeper and turned to walk away. I wanted to ask where he was going but my attention remained glued to the woman in front of me… said woman had begun to have tears welling up in her eyes. For a moment I thought I had done something to upset her, but her smile grew even bigger as her gaze locked onto me.
"I am so happy to see you again Hiro." Did she miss me that much from when I dreamt of her last time? I honestly didn't know what to say at this point. "You seem confused little one, is everything alright?"
Little one?
There was a part of me that took offense to that, but my confusion kinda overpowered that feeling. "Uhhh…. I'm sorry, but have we met before?" I asked hoping not to upset her.
The lady in white chuckled, amused at my question. "As I told you nights ago, I have been watching over you for a long time, and have known you since the day you were born. You were the most adorable little pup I had ever laid eyes on, it had broke my heart when I had to send you away, but I promise you I never stopped watching over you."
….
….
I was stunned… could this woman possibly be…
"Mother?"
He smile widened as tears began to flow freely from her eyes. "I missed you so much my child."
So many thoughts began to flood through my mind…
How…?
Who…?
Where…?
And most of all…
"Why?" I asked, clenching my eyes shut letting the flood of tears escape. "Why did you send me away? Didn't you want me?" Questions I had asked myself for years. Growing up as an orphan questions like these were unavoidable, but now I had someone to give me the answers I've been seeking… if I could stop myself from crying that is.
I felt a pair of warm, soft hands clasp both sides of my face and heard her calming and gentle voice. "Of course I wanted to keep you Hiro, believe me when I tell you it was the hardest thing I ever had to do when I sent you to live in the physical realm." I opened my eyes and gazed into my mothers, tears still flowed from her sky blue orbs with no sign of stopping. "But I had to, for your own good."
"How?" I asked unable to stop myself from breaking down. I wanted to know why I had to grow up alone like I did. I don't really regret it mind you, but… well, wouldn't you want to know too?
My mother tried to wipe away my tears, albeit in vain… each tear she wiped away was replaced with another. "While you are my child Hiro, you are still a mortal, of flesh and blood. And such beings cannot exist in the spirit realm; at least not for too long. If I had kept you here, your body would have withered into dust."
Her explanation removed a weight from my soul, the fear I had since childhood of being an unwanted child faded… leaving a feeling of joy.
But as usual, with one question answered another took its place.
"What about my father?" Now there is a question that has bugged me for… ever. And when I mentioned him… my mother had a dreamy expression, he must have been something special to be remembered so fondly. "Couldn't he have taken me in?" I asked.
Mother sighed. "Your father was… well, he was a one of a kind mortal, who captured my heart with his…" She giggled a bit trying to find the words to explain him. "Well let's just say your father was someone I was happy to fall in love with. But no, to answer your question, your father's… situation made it impossible for him to take care of you."
Huh, what was it that made it impossible for my father to be with his family?
As if reading my mind my mother spoke. "You see… your father was a warrior who… traveled with his pack… looking for a place to call home." I see, so dad was a wanderer. Yeah, made sense, raising a child on the road would have difficult, if not impossible.
So now I knew about my mother, the spirit of the moon… and I learned about my father, a wandering warrior…
The tears kept flowing, but now I was overwhelmed with… pure happiness. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around the woman who bore me, and embraced her in a bone crushing hug. Mother returned the embrace and wept with joy, and for one brief moment… I felt like a pup again, more happy than I have ever been…
But I knew it wouldn't last.
"Hiro!"
A voice echoed through the clearing, and in that voice I heard… rage… anguish… and pure sorrow. But more importantly than that the voice was one I knew all too well.
"Tigress?" Yep, I'd recognize her voice anywhere.
I looked around the clearing to find where my friends voice was coming from only to find no one present besides my mother. I felt her hand on my arm and when I turned back to my mother I was met with a… very sad smile.
I'm not sure I'm going to like this.
"Come with me." She simply said, and walked off through the crystal wood. I followed without question, trailing behind her in silence. And if I was being honest, I was utterly terrified at what I thought was coming next.
After a few moments we left the woods behind and came upon a cliffside, over which was… an abyss of stars and darkness. Seeing this, realization struck me… the land we stood on was just floating somewhere in the cosmos. Wow.
"From here you can go back."
Those words were almost like knives in my heart.
I had just found my mother…. And now I have to leave her again?
That… is just not fair.
"What?" I asked in disbelief. "But, I still have questions… I… I… I don't want to…" I couldn't even finish my sentence.
"I know Hiro, but they need you far more than I do. And besides, even when I will always be watching over you every single night… just like in always have."
Even though it hurt a lot… she was right, I needed to go back.
"But…"
"As for your questions, they must wait for another day… and most of the will have to be answered by your father."
"Where-" I started ask but…
"When the time comes you'll find him. That's all I can tell you."
I nodded. "Alright then." I gave my mother one last hug, not knowing when I'd see her again. I just hope I don't have to die to do so. "I'm so glad I had a chance to meet you. I'll see you again, one day."
Mom squeezed me back, obviously feeling the same kind of pain I was. "You keep on being the proud warrior you are, there will be so much depending on you. But I know you will be up to the task."
I let her go and stepped to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the infinite void. As I was about to step off into the nothingness, mother stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh! Before I forget, I have something for you."
She then pulled out a pair of white steel twin hooks from her sleeve…
How was she hiding them there?
The blades presented to me were… well for lack of a better word… perfect. The edge, the balance, the weight… it was almost as if these weapons were custom made for me specifically in mind.
And who knows they probably were.
As I twirled the twin hooks around, getting a quick feel for them ( felt absolutely perfect ) mother spoke. "I have a feeling you will need these. And with your skills, you will master the use of these weapons in no time."
Yeah, I do have a talent at that sort of thing.
Anyways… it was time.
I took one last look at my mother and smiled.
"Goodbye little one. I love you.
Those words… those three little words… I wanted to hear them for so long, and now… well I know this won't be the last time I hear them from her. At this point we can call it a hunch.
"Goodbye Mom, I love you too."
And with that I threw myself of the edge…
Into the nothing…
Hopefully ending up back in China.
I got a score to settle there.
A/N
Alright I know I said I'd get this chapter up sooner, but it wasn't my fault… life just got in the way! Anywho, next chapter will come around, hopefully sooner ( knock on wood ). But for the meantime like comment, tell me how I'm doing, what you like about the story, because it's your comments that tend to inspire me when I'm hitting roadblocks.
Till next time.
