(The Next Morning)
The sunlight hits Viper's eyelids to indicate to her that it was morning time, and she yawned quietly while rubbing her eyes with her tail. "Mr. Sun just couldn't let me sleep in, could he?"
"You call the sun Mr. Sun? Well, I guess that offers something special to it." She was surprised by the voice, and more surprised that she was lying on something furry and jiggly...and sloshy? She looked down to see Po smiling at her, his hat having now been removed from his face. "Morning, Viper. Did you sleep pretty well?"
Viper thought about this question, despite how trivial it may sound. The panda was warm, which was quite a plus for an aninal of cold-blood. He was soft, even more so than the softest of pillows, the kind of pillows that nobles woulr buy. He was fluffy, which made him immensely cuddly even if the other factors weren't a part of him. When she slithered onto his belly, she felt completely at ease. Even when he was asleep, it's like he was still keeping her safe from harm, wherever it may come from, or whatever form it may come in. It may have just proven once and for all that he was truly and honestly on her side.
He gave her a feeling of safety like a big brother would truly give.
So with a cheery smile, she nodded. "Uhuh. I slept very well. You're pretty comfy to sleep on, Po."
"Ehehe, glad to hear it. We had quite a rough day yesterday, it feels pretty cool to finally have a breather. Did the others wake up before us?"
Viper nodded. "Yes they did. In fact they're finished putting their things into their bags, I think they're preparing to leave and are just waiting for you."
Po's fellow comrades did indeed choose to wait for him to wake up, and also chose to pass the time by merely chatting amongst themselves. And they had quite a strange to look into. The name of said subject? Crane's Special Attack.
"Seriously dude? Wings Of Justice? How'd you come up with that?" Monkey said in a relatively bored manner, waving his paw in a way that matched said manner. It was something that irritated Crane. Both the way the primate addressed the subject, and that he thought it wasn't interesting enough.
"Hey, lay off!" The avian said, folding his arms with annoyance. "You don't have to like my attack because it clearly isn't yours. I can name it whatever I want!"
"And yet...you couldn't come up with a better name than that? Gonna be completely honest...that's pretty weak, dude. Preeeeeetty weak."
"Want me to peck you again?"
"I'm just saying, you could have done a bit better at naming it. Could have done so much better."
Crane glared down on his friend. "Well once you become the world's first flying Monkey with wings, they you can name your attacks however you wish. But sense that obviously won't ever happen, I suggest you shut up about how I name things. Besides...you do realize what your second nickname is, right?"
Monkey thought back, and he glared back at the avian. "You'd better not. Don't try it. I am warning you bro, don't you dare "
"That's right, I know how to mess with people too. Just not with the enthusiasm that Master Fenghuang has." He stated as he unfolded his wings. "Come to think of it...I haven't heard from her or Master Shifu in quite some time. Didn't spend too much time around them to be sure, but they seemed to be the types who wake up before everyone else."
"If anything, Fenghuang may still be asleep. Owls are nocturnal, maybe that's why she's so tired."
"Doesn't explain Shifu, though." Mantis pointed. "Apparently something has been eating away at him, and it kept him from getting any shuteye. Tigress said that she's never seen him like this before." That allowed a silent wave of worry pass through them all. That explained Tigress's absence to the circle.
Indeed, Tigress was sitting by the still slumbering Shifu, who seemed to be suffering from the effects of a nightmare of sorts. It made her feel powerless that she couldn't help him through it. All she could tell was that his face was twisted in guilt and he had a bit of sweat rolling down his fur, combining those two with his clenching teeth, and chilling words he spoke while sleeping: Voices...I heard voices all around me. Voices...that are being silenced forever. One-by-One, the voices are never heard again...but why...ugh...
"Leave it to the Midget to keep himself stressed even though he's sleeping." Tigress turned around to see Fenghuang yawning while stretching her wings. She used her left wing to rub her eyes. "He's been like that all night, and I have a pretty good idea why." She tucked in her wings while sighing. "But I don't think we should jump to conclusions until we know for sure."
"Know for sure, Master Fenghuang?" Tigress asked. Fenghuang sighed. That formal thing did get on her nerves, but she stopped complaining about it. It was going to keep happening, and there wasn't anything she could do about it for the moment.
"Midget is like this for a reason. He senses something is terribly wrong, no doubt. I can somewhat sense the same thing...but we gotta be sure, first. We'll just have to wait for him to wake up. Or...I could wake him up right now and you can ask him yourself."
"How?"
"Like this." Fenghuang walked over to the sleeping red panda...and swiftly kicked him across the room. She smirked slightly when he slammed into the wall. "Morning, Midget~"
Shifu growled as he stood up and rubbed his arm. "What is wrong with you?! Are you insane?!" He paused for a second. "...I retract that question. You have already provided an answer."
"Don't look at me. Your daughter was the one looming over you while you were sleeping. Maybe you wanna talk with her about it?"
The red panda shook his head, getting his walking stick and walking past the both of them, shaking his head slowly. "I'm fine. You have nothing to be concerned about, Tigress. I just need some more time to clear my head. I did just wake up from sleep...in the most uncomfortable of ways..." He glare at the owl, who just rolled her eyes at him, and he further moved away from them. Tigress still looked concerned about her father/master, but it was clear he was not going to talk about his nightmares. She had no choice...but to wait.
"Once we got everything ready, we need to head back to the Valley Of Peace." Fenghuang said. Mr. Ping and Zeng overheard these words, but didn't say anything. "Because I sensed a major shift in the air...and it's really buggin' me."
Mr. Ping stared worriedly at Fenghuang, while Zeng followed Shifu out of concern. The former looked up to the sky, as he took the Peach Tree Petal out of his sleeve. His eyes lowered. I can feel it too, if only slightly. Something really bad must have happened to the Valley, because the petal has completely lost it's glow...I hope Mrs. Yoon is okay...wait, where did that come from...? He shook his head to regain focus, they all needed to regroup. Master Viper had something to say.
Viper and Po were called to Great Master Viper's room when everyone has properly woken up and eaten breakfast. Though they did not expect that Fu-Xi would also be in the room, with bandages covering his head and having a very right chain around his neck, reinforced by a rhino guard. Viper hissed angrily, only for her mother to calm her down. "Relax, honey. Your father did an extensive interrogation on Fu-Xi...and we learned a lot more than we thought we would. He wishes to speak to you and Po, is it?"
"That's me." He nods, pointing to himself. "What, is he still causing issues for you?"
"No it's not that. You'll better understand it if you to him yourselves."
The two did not know what this was ahout, but they couldn't keep their curiousity in check for long. They approached the cobra cautiously, though he showed no hostility towards Po this time. He just looked up at the duo, and they could see that his eyes were...exhausted. This didn't mean a lack if sleep, it meant something else. Viper dropped her hostile gaze, but didn't take her eyes off of him for a moment. He could see the immense distrust she him, and he sighed.
"Viper...before we get started on my confessions...I want to get the worst one out of the way..." He took a deep breath, and decided to get it over with. "Remember when I saved you from that Gorilla Bandit...and I told you that he killed your unborn sisters...?" The younger snake nodded slightly, unsure of where this was going. "...That isn't true. "
Viper's eyes widened. "What...?"
"That's right. I lied to you about your sisters being dead. I wanted to give you a major reason to become my apprentice. I would never lay that kind of harm upon my kind like that, especially not in the hands of a two-legger. I sent them far away from this village, somewhere unknown and somewhere safe. I avoided telling you the truth, and I blackmailed your Father to allow me to continue teaching you. I needed to give you a reason to hate two-leggers and join my cause." Fu-Xi looked up to meet Viper's eyes-
SLAP!
Fu-Xi's head snapped sideways when her tail impacted his cheek without warning. His cheek glowed red from the stinging pain he now received from the slap. He kept his calm expression, expressed through an exhausted sigh. "Ha...I guess I deserved that..."
"You deserve much more!" Viper hissed angrily. "You lied to me about a lot of things, that I recently found out. But I never thought that the main reason I sided with you was also a sick trick! My sisters have been alive thjs entire time and you deceived me about it? How...how could you do such a cruel thing to me? I have always wanted siblings, and I thought I lost that chance forever on that night. But you kept something this huge from me so that you would keep me in your coils?!"
The cobra cowered under her gaze. Being helpless and afraid was an entirely new concept to him, a concept he cannot understand very well. But he knew the feeling now. It was a feeling he forced on almost everyone in this village, for his own selfish purposes.
Selfish...yes...that's the word for it...
"I have been selfish, Viper. And I denied it until the panda pounded sense into my skull. I have started out standing up for other serpents such as you and I..." He lowered his head. "Then I allowed hatred to get the better of me. I let my selfishness ruin whatever good conscious I had left. Losing all of my loved ones because I was feared...I've never thought of such cruelty...until I began doing the same thing." He raised his head back up. "Me calling youn'Little Sister' was not me being deceiving. You just remind me...so much of my own." Viper's anger disappeared when this came up. "You two are a lot alike. Full of positivity, always cheerful, not too interested in fighting...you even have a similar smile that always made my day better. I just...wanted to keep you close. Close enough so that nothing can hurt you."
Po's face was neutral, as he had no personal ties in their history. He was there to observe.
"Your father showed disappointment in you for not having fangs like his. He showed disappointment for something that was out of your control. It infuriated me when I saw how hurt you we're behind your mask of a smile." Po winced at the last part. He and Viper had more in common than he realized. "All your attempts to please him were met with little results. And each and every time...while you hold nothing against him, I was growing more agitated by the day. So when he lost his fangs, I took the time to mock him as I saved his life. Now he can be just like his daughter, now that his greatest strength has been utterly destroyed by a powerful force in the hands of a two-legger I defeated." He sighed. "I played with fate...and now I too, have lost my greatest strength to a powerful force, which also came from a two-legger. What a twisted combination of both Déjà vu and Irony..."
"Slithering in Viper's trail...I have never apologized so much to anyone in my days as a Master." Great Master Viper gently pets Viper. "Having to live without fangs as a weapon is highly risky. And she managed to do it with minimum effort, once she trained under Fu-Xi. As much as I disliked that...in the end had extraordinary results in her strength. His two-legger tendency also rubbed off on her, unfortunately. Then you came." He gazed up at the panda. "You never laid a harmful paw in her, and you were gentle. You got her to stand down without directly opposing her. I know few people who are capabpe risking their own well-being just to prove a point. The method...was pretty risky. Then again, your master is Fenghuang, I'm not terribly surprised."
"Viper. I know at this point an apology is most likely utterly useless...but I shall do so anyway. In my own blind irrational hatred and selfish wishes...I nearly ruined your personality...the personality that made me want to keep you safe in the first place...I am sorry." Fu-Xi said genuinely, bowing his head to her for effect.
Viper was definitely stunned by this sudden apology. Yesterday he was dead-set on killing her when she defected from his ambition. But now that he's seen that his ways were extreme, unjust, and absurdly cruel, he couldn't help but apologize thr the snake. He thought he was a superior role model to her father. But he was wrong. Her father never instructed her to be something her heart did not want. Her mind was the problem getting in the way of recovering from that mindset.
Not all two-ggers(as Fu-Xi continues to say) were evil. There were good ones, like Po. But his hatred mostly destroyed his ability to tell the difference. Losing family can do that to a person. It took Po's harsh blow to the cobra's head to see how low he had sunken. He was a noble hero once.
Now..he was no better than a common criminal. And he's never been so ashamed of anything else.
Viper took her time to properly gaze at her former cobra master. She could feel his apology was genuine and he meant every word. Although he may never gey over his hatred of anything that walks on two legs, but it was evident that he would no longer drag other innocent snakes into his damaged mentality. He silently promised not to bring other snakes into his obsessive hatred. Viper would be safer away from him...and by Po's side. As much as he hated to admit it, the panda ha truly acted like a better brother than himself in the span of two days.
After a while, Viper raised her head. "I can't easily forgive those misdeeds you fooled me into thinking that it was justice. Just because people on two-legs caused you pain in the past, doesn't mean you can antagonize every single one of them. You tried and almost succeeded in placing all of that in my mind, but my heart knew that it wasn't right. It may be why I never truly accepted your beliefs...unconsciously, I knew what we we're doing was wrong. If you can at least try to overcome that irrational hatred of yours...I think I can try and forgive you."
"Any chance I have is a good chance. However...it may be quite a long time before we meet again. Once you leave, I will be escorted to prison. So I'm just getting everything I wanted to say out of the way first before you're seen off."
Viper blinked, while her father smiled. "We all know what you're thinking, Viper. We all approve of your departure. And we hope you have a safe journey. Po and his companions have proven to be very trustworthy. I leave you in their hands. Now I'll be escorting Fu-Xi to prison. I might be gone all day, so I'm saying farewell now so I won't miss the chance." He kissed her forehead and slithered off, with the Rhino guard dragging Fu-Xi along by the chains.
Viper was left behind with Po, surprised by the action her father chose to take. How could he have known that she would want leave? Probably out of guilt...
(Flashback: Great Master Viper's thoughts)
Viper was slithering along out of the villagers eyes, trying to keep herself from drawing her attention. 7 years old and she was being antagonized for being a serpent. They didn't need any other reason to hate her other than that one detail. She has always tried to be nice, always trying to be a good person. But fear has kept them from accepting her kindess with open arms. They choose to keep her away, only because she was a snake...and her Master was Fu-Xi.
The fear that Fu-Xi imposed on people so that they could keep their distance away from him, was unintentionally passed onto Viper. Being isolated from others was something she definitely did not want, and she was very certain of it. But she had to obey her Master because she wanted to learn more from him, so she kept her complaints and hurt hidden behind her smile. Smiling was the only defense she could muster up at her age for the moment. She hid her pain with her smiles, if the villagers knew that they were causing her pain, they would only get worse. Plus she didn't want to strike back against any of them. Fu-Xi does that for her...it doesn't help her image much. Being the daughter of Great Master Viper does very little to help.
It has only been a year since the disappearance of the eggs of her siblings, since she refused to believe they were truly dead. While her parents have lost hope, and despite what she herself has said, she has not given up on them. Not even a little bit. She absolutely refused to believe it.
This mindset of hers was what prompted Great Master Viper to realize the grave error he made. His lack of encouragement inadvertedly pushed his daughter to be tutored by a snake filled with hatred that he hides from her daily. While his daughter very clearly still loves him, he could tell that the damage has been done. It was shown that she always made sure she time for Fu-Xi's lessons, and he would sometimes find his own room empty. His wife would usually be asleep or out shopping. Without his fangs, he himself was mostly defenseless. And he hated that. But he could not deny that it was his own fault. Arrogance cost him his greatest weapon, a weapon he could never get back.
He would usually be reminded of his failure in which Fu-Xi succeeded by numerous villagers. Many of them questioned his ability to even be a Kung Fu Master at his point. It was these times that kicked him down and refused to allow him back up. His only inspiration was that his daughter resisted all odds stacked against her without even flinching much. Secretly he wished he had half the confidence in himself that she had, a serpent with no fangs. If only she weren't learning from someone like Fu-Xi...
He sighed to himself as he resided to bed for today. He was somewhat surprised to see that Viper had slithered into his doorway, looking tired herself. She gave a small yawn and rubbed her eyes. Then she moved up to kiss his cheek goodnight, and turned to leave his room. He did not move from his spot, as she thought he was asleep already, but he was able to sport a small smile nonetheless. He had a new type of newfound confidence in him.
'She won't end up like him. A kind soul like herself could never completely succumb to Fu-Xi's treachery. She just needs time to grow. Then she'll understand. I have faith that she'll make a proper decision on whether she'll continue to follow him or not However...I can never fully forget what drove her to him in the first place.' He closed his eyes.
"She wanted me to show pride in her...and I couldn't do it...but that will change..."
(End Flashback)
Viper's attention was brought back to Po when she was getting lost in her thoughts. She remembered her father telling her something like this once, and she wasn't too sure on how to properly react to it. But now she does.
"Okay Po. I've made up my mind after some time to think about it." She said with a sigh and a smile. "I'll join you and the others. Will that be okay?"
"Of COURSE it's okay! That's all kinds of super okay!" Po cheered as he grabbed onto Viper and pulled her into a hug. It was a bit difficult because she was somewhat slippery, but soon she was able to wrap herself around him for a hug as affectiinate as his own. "And you passed the initiation!"
"Initiation?"
"Giving me a hug!".
"Oh!" Viper understood, and giggled. She then leaned up and planted a friendly kiss to his cheek, leaving a red lip mark due to her lipstick. "Will that also suffice, new brother?"
Po smiled wide like she did. "That'll do just fine, new sis. We learned something new today, didn't we? Your sisters are alive out there...somewhere. One day...we're gonna find them. And you'll have quite the awesome reunion on your hands."
"But they disappeared before they hatched, Po. When we do meet, it's truly for the very first time. How will I know who they are?"
"Sibling inuition. Trust me, you'll know."
Confused by Po's reasoning but accepting it,Viper left the palace alongside him. They went down below to the village to regroup with everyone, who seemed to be having another discussion. It was about Mantis and Lidong joining the group.
Mantis finally caved an accepted, much to Po's delight. Lidong however, denied it.
"You're not coming with me? Come on, man!" Mantis groaned. "I wasn't too keen on joining them either, but now I sawthem in action, they're actually pretty awesome! Plus Mr. Ping's cooking...his COOKING...HOW can you give that up?"
Lidong gulped. "As tempting as that is...I can't." He sighed. "This is where we gotta go our separate ways, man. You found your group of friends to hang around. I'm gonna go solo from here on out."
"Wait...just like that, we're splitting up?" Mantis asked.
"Ley's face the facts, man. My history is much more questionable than yours, because I spent most of it as a bandit that likes to charge at everything and pick on people smaller than he is. Now that you straightened me out, I can work on disfusing that part of me from my reputation...and I gotta do it alone. People have to think I'm a decent guy because I want to be a decent guy, not because I've been convinced to do so." He turned to Fung with a small smile. "Our reunion was short...just like your size compared to mine."
"Ugh..." Fung groaned.
"But it was a pretty good reunion nonetheless. Glad we got to meet again, big cousin." He grabbed Fung and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Fung was stuck between hugging him back and trying to break free. So he just stayed still and hoped it would end soon.
"Gack...agh...bah...Glad to see you...too...little...cousin..." He coughed out, gasping for breath as he was released, clutching his chest. "Ease up...on the grip next time...okay...?"
"No promises. See you guys later." Lidong waved them farewell, and went on his way, his giant footsteps still making small quakes. Fung was just as disappointed as Mantis was, but was happy to see his cousin again, regardless of the shortness of their reunion.
Mantis hopped on Po's head. "Alright bud. You got me interested in your team. I'm in." He was then knocked off and squeezed against Po's chest. "GAGH?!"
"Initiation. You must hug the panda!"
"That's...a rather easy initiation...except when your crushing me!" Po promptly released Mantis, rubbing his neck.
"Sorry..."
Mei Ling placed her chin in her paw, and turned to Crane. "Gee...group is getting pretty big, isn't it Crane?"
The avian sighed, laughing tiredly. "Yep...but I think that's Po's intention. Have as many friends as possible..."
Tigress once again took a cautious look at Shifu, who was staring off in the direction of the Valley of Peace. He had no idea why, or for what reason, but he has an incredibly strong desire to return there as soon as possible. And that desire made itself known, as he turned towards the younger group with serious eyes. "We are returning to the Valley. I have a grave feeling that something has gone wrong. Master Oogway must need our assistance!"
Fenghuang and Mr. Ping looked at one another with concern. They were able to read each other's eyes for a silent conversation. He's finally figured it out...this cannot work out well...
(Valley Of Peace-Ruins)
The figure in the black cloak could only gaze with a mix of raging, saddening, and nostalgic emotions. But the person kept them inside, as the shadowed face was completely blank.
The Valley was completely destroyed from the Lin Kuei's raid. Not a single soul survived. No man, woman, or chold was left alive. Except for Mrs. Yoon and the young wolf that passed by him. It chose not to give chase, as the figure had too much in mind already. The figure already knew multiple things, and each and every one of them were depressing.
The Valley has been destroyed. Everyone that lives in it, except Mrs. Yoon, has been killed. The Jade Palace has been ransacked of it's treasures, and burned down. All homes were also burned down. And the Dragon Scroll was also destroyed. Proof of it lied at the figure's feet. All that was left intact was the lid. It was especially jarring, because without the Dragon Scroll, and with Oogway's unexpected passing, identifying the Dragon Warrior was officially impossible. The only thing that remained fully intact...was the Peach Tree. And even that has lost most of it's glow because the Valley was now lifeless.
The figure wanted to pay Shifu a visit and 'surprise' him. But after coming across something like this...it was pretty clear that this was HORRIBLY bad timing. No choice but to leave and let events play out from there. But still, the figure was not happy, as it turned away and left silently.
"Once again...something is keeping us apart..." The figure said sadly, with a feminine tone to it. When she turned, there was a brief flash of a fox tail from behind the cloak, before she dashed out of sight.
And once again...the universe chooses to torment you. *Sigh...* Oh Fufi...why couldn't you have just ran away with me that night? Why do you continue to choose honor? Because your type of honor...is what makes you unwillingly betray people. Your kind of honor...will not allow you to let this go, and you'll be blaming yourself, even when you've done nothing wrong. I DESPISE your type honor. I really do...
A tear dropped from her face as she jumps from tree branch to tree branch, and she slowly wiped it away.
Your specific devotion to your honor...is the key to your suffering. It has not been kind to you. And the only thing I despise more than your honor...is the suffering that it puts you through. This unfortunate tragedy...will force you to either hang onto it...or let it go. And for you sake...OUR sake...I hope you choose the latter. You've sacrificed far too much of your personal happiness to keep it intact...
With these silent thoughts in mind, Mei Ling the Rogue disappears from view completely. Her reunion with Shifu..she has no choice but to keep it postponed...
Chapter End.
Anyway, how is that? The Dragon Scroll has been destroyed in the raid. Oogway is gone as well...so how can anyone find out who the Dragon Warrior is? Currently...they can't.
Po...Tigress...Mr. Ping...Shifu...they are NOT gonna be happy that their home has been destroyed. Fenghuang...well...her reaction will be somewhat mixed. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter.
Farewell, for now...