"We're almost upon the prison, guys!" Crane called aloud to Mantis and Monkey as they were soaring upon the complex in question, flapping his wings a few times to keep himself flying.
"So, my brother is in there, huh? This feels weird." Monkey narrowed his eyes as he was thinking over what to do or what to say when he's finally face to face with him. He was focused and deadset on rescuing him, but he never truly thought about what he'd do when he succeeds. They'd be forced to interact.
He'd be forced to interact with the brother who left him alone. After their mother died. Seemingly because he knew he was a bad influence and wasn't capable of changing by himself. The repressed resentment for that choice was beginning to resurface, but could be really stay that way, though? Monkey immediately shook his head. He was making it too complicated at the moment.
Whether he loved him or hated him, Monkey wouldn't allow another blood relative to be killed.
"Hey, guys. Check that out."
Mantis pointed towards one of the walls of the prison. The guys were briefly surprised as they could see a wall having been bashed through, seemingly from the inside, with the service having long crashed into the ground.
"One of the walls have been broken through. Do you guys think it was some inmates? Has there been a prison break?!" Crane gasped with a dropped lower beak. "Ohhh that would be really really REALLY bad."
"That's crazy!" Mantis shouted in a brief panic. "It wasn't us, right?! This wasn't our fault! But is it gonna look like it is when we arrive and someone outside catches us?!"
"I hope not. That's a hassle in of itself. It's also gonna cause more trouble for the others." Crane groaned. "Po's turned us all into trouble magnets."
"We'll worry about it later. Just fly us in, Crane." Monkey requested. With a reluctant nod, Crane swiftly descending downwards towards the prison. "I know it might seem like th easy way, but let's not use that gaping hole. I don't know for sure, but I've got a deep feeling that we don't wanna enter through there." The trio eventually descended upon the door, with Monkey landing first, and Crane slowing down and landing soon after. A brief look around confirmed a strange atmosphere. "Huh. Thought there would be more guards up here. This is a prison, they gotta be guarding this place from the outside, right?"
"Supposedly." Mantis shifted his eyes about, looking extremely cautious. "Guys. I think something's gone down before we even touched this place."
"Oh boy." Crane sighed as he lightly fanned himself with his wing. "Okay, I need to get it together. Stay focused. The thing we worry about most is finding Monkey's brother, and fast. We can't waste any more time than we're allowed to. We're in. Now we just gotta find him, and get out as quickly as we can. Then he and Monkey can hash out their issues in a safer environment."
"I haven't even met with him yet, Crane! Was that last part necessary?!" Monkey groaned, irritated because he was also right. Deep down, Monkey had quite a bit of choice words to say to Wu Kong. He didn't know how he'll feel once he actually faces him. But at the moment, any discord they might have towards one another would have to wait until they got out of here with him in tow.
So with a heavy heart, Monkey was the first to enter the large complex, with his two comrades in tow. Crane was obviously the most reluctant to actually step inside, knowing full well what he was attempting to help Monkey do. In any other situation, this would definitely be a questionable action, paired with a possible questionable conclusion. Especially since Monkey's brother was likely suspect to a lot of things, as he wasn't a benevolent enough to stay by Monkey's side when he really needed him, seeing himself as a corruptive influence. For all intents and purposes, Wu Kong probably deserved to be here.
But that didn't deter Crane. His own doubts aside, his friend needed his help. Besides, Monkey's lost a family member already, there's no way he'd sit by and allow himself to lose another, no matter what the situation. Crane felt the exact same way.
I hope Mom's doing okay. I really should write her a letter sometime. A lot has happened since I left...
A few moments of walking down a hallway adjourned with prison cells, Monkey looked from side to side, seeing the bars and cages all around. None of them had any inmates sitting within them. As many as they've seen, not one of them had a prisoner sitting inside of them. They've all been emptied for as far as they could see. And it feels like they've all been opened...simultaneously.
"...Anyone else getting bad vibes from this?" Mantis broke the silence, sitting atop Crane's had and keeping vigilant. "How big was this prison break?"
"I know. It's one thing if they all broke out and the guards weren't able to stop them. But with how these cells look, it's like they've all been freed. At the exact same time."
"But how? I mean, I know that some inmates might grow the spine to try and do a massive breakout, but literally every single one of them at the same time?"
Crane lightly tilted his hat. "Something's gone wrong here. Something horribly wrong. Monkey?" The avian turned to his simian friend, who was unsurprisingly feeling tense as they passed by yet another hallway, having yet to spot Wu Kong anywhere. Maybe he did escape with the others, and the frustrating thing is that would make finding him several times harder.
Come on, Wu Kong. Work with me, here! Monkey was thinking desperately. He knew the chance of actually finding Wu Kong were slim if there was a massive prison break, as his brother wasn't the kind of person to stick around for that sort of thing. Then again, he wouldn't know for certain. He hadn't seen him in years. How in the world was their first interactions since their childhood going to go?
The wall next to him was suddenly caved in by the impact of something harshly crashing into it. He slowly looked towards the object that crashed through, his eyes blinking with slight disbelief. Crane and Mantis were about as surprised as he was.
Wu Kong was right beside him, and he had been gravely injured all over. Yet despite this, Wu Kong coughed as he pulled himself up, spitting at the ground.
"C'mon, guys. I'm sure we can talk about this!" Wu Kong coughed while trying to stand without falling over.
"The time for talking is over, Wu Kong. There's nowhere left for you to run."
"I shoulda known it wouldn't be that easy, but why'd they only come after me?" Wu Kong grumbled as he shook his head and stood back up. Despite several dozen other prisoners having escaped, these brutes are deciding to focus solely on him?
Well, he did personally offend Chairman Qing, so he supposed that was somewhat reaching fairness. But he'd rather not stick around if he was able to escape. He didn't want to deal with that crane's scheming anymore than he had to.
"Wu Kong?"
The primate's eyes widened at the sound of the voice, turning towards it's source. Monkey was looking at him with wide eyes of his own, his tail flicking idly in place as he processed that his brother was right in front of him. And by the look of things, it seems that Wu Kong got himself in a bit of a bind.
So far, things haven't really changed. He didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated. Either way, his brother was here, and he had quite a few things to say.
"Monkey...?"
"Nice to know that you haven't changed so much that you're unrecognizable, bro." Monkey sighed, as he soon stepped in front of him. "You just sit right there. I'll handle this."
"Wait, what?!" Wu Kong pushed himself up. "Hold on a second! You can't!"
"We can." Mantis hopped into the ground and stood at the ready.
"And we will." Crane agreed, spreading his wings slightly with a narrowed glare.
"Hey guys!" Monkey lightly nodded to Wu Kong. "This guy is my brother. I'm gonna have to take him away from here. Is that okay with you? I mean, it probably isn't, but-"
"Wu Kong has crossed Chairman Qing, current ruler that brings order among the disorder of Jinzhou. He's not allowed to leave until his execution time." One of the gorillas reached up and pounded the ground. The trio remained unflinching, though Wu Kong was looking back and forth between the gang.
"Monkey, seriously. You need to get outta here. It's not safe."
"I've noticed." Monkey casually shrugged off. "Listen, guys. All I want is my brother. I ain't letting him die. But he's also then only one here from the prison that I care about. Let me leave with him. I'm not gonna break out with anybody else."
"Unacceptable. Chairman Qing's decision is final." Both of them slammed the ground. "And besides, are you not aware of what happened here?! He's the one who kick-started a massive prison break! All the prisoners are loose, and dozens of our guards are dead!"
Monkey looked stunned by the news, and turned towards Wu Kong, who rapidly shook his head. "No! I didn't break every single prisoner out! I didn't kill anyone, either!" He only helped three other people escape alongside himself, but then he was taken up by several guards. It resulted in everyone escaping the complex except himself.
But dead guards? Wu Kong couldn't understand that part. Who could have done that?
In any case, his desperate denial managed to somewhat convince Monkey, who seemed reluctantly yet understandably skeptical of him given Wu Kong's track record for honesty. He didn't know how to feel about not seeing his younger brother for years, that same brother coming to rescue him, yet also finding his claims difficult to trust on his word alone.
It's not like there's anyone around to validate them, so he'll just need to have faith.
"Sorry, but Monkey's brother will have to cancel on that execution. No hard feelings, but it seriously doesn't sit well with any of us." Mantis declared as the distance between them closed. "We just wanna take him, only him, and leave." Mantis was ultimately just glad that the prison break wasn't their fault, because that's just the kind of thing that could happen with their randomized luck.
"Just let us go, guys. There's no need to fight. You have other things to worry about than one prisoner compared to the dozens that got away, right?" Crane hoped the guards would just call it a day and not bother. The news of a prison break was distressing, in a city already filled with seedy citizens.
Chaos was going to consume Jinzhou in a matter of hours if this isn't dealt with quickly.
Unfortunately, the gorilla guards weren't very understanding, as one of them tore out a chunk of the ground next to them, glaring towards the gang. Crane sighed. He knew where this was going to lead, and would rather not, when they had more urgent things to worry about.
"Please don't throw that chunk of floor."
"I'm gonna throw this chunk of floor."
"I beg you to be reasonable."
"But I wanna do it."
"I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"I'm gonna do it, ya dumb bird."
"I'm most certainly not a dumb bird. Please don't do it."
"Doin' it."
"No."
"YES." He did end up throwing the chunk of wall at them.
"DAMN IT!" Crane cawed in irritation as he flew towards the chunk of wall towards them. With a midair twirl, he launched himself forward and smashed the makeshift projector to pieces with a well-placed kick. The debris landed harmlessly on the ground, and Crane landed right after them. Crane cawed again as he turned towards another chunk of ground being thrown, and subsequently sliced it vertically in half with a swipe of his wings.
"Did he just slice that concrete in half with just his wings?" Wu Kong questioned, dumbfounded.
"After training with a certain owl, both in flight, fighting, midair combat, and applying these things to actual battles, Crane's wings have gotten ridiculously strong. Stuff like that is easy now." Monkey informed.
"The set up is in place, let's do this." Mantis hopped in place.
"Yeah." Monkey nodded in agreement. Crane landed right behind them, with his wings raised.
Both of them jumped, and Crane flapped his wings. They were launched forward from the gust of wind that followed the gesture, and proceeded to use the momentum to kick two of the gorillas right in their heads. Both of them were launched right into the wall behind them, crashing it through. They blinked in confusion, before falling forward on their faces, unconscious. Their last member of the trio turned towards the boys and prepared for a counter attack.
Crane didn't let him use the opportunity.
Right after he launched Monkey and Mantis, he himself soared towards the final gorilla in their way, and kicked him right in the chest. He was launched right into his two comrades, which finally caused the entire wall to come down on them, kicking up a lot of dust in the process.
Crane brushed dust off his hat with a wing, placed it on his head, and took a deep breath. "Sorry about that, guys. I tried to be reasonable, they blatantly refused to be reasonable, and it really ticked me off."
"You're good, dude." Monkey lightly patted his shoulder, before turning to Wu Kong. "Alright, let's get outta here as quickly as we can. Before more of them come and try to kill us."
"Why are you saying this so casually?"
"We're used to things trying to kill us. That's not a good thing, by the way." Crane muttered with a swipe of his wing. "Anyway, if we're gonna leave, now would be the best time. Wu Kong can fill us in on what the heck happened before a bunch of prisoners were set loose into the city, and why those guards seem really convinced that a chunk of that was definitely his fault."
"I really don't know what they were talking about, fellas. Seriously! I only remember four of us being freed!"
"Four?" Crane tucked his wings and walked up to Wu Kong with scrutinizing eyes. "Who are the rest? In situations like these, it's the lesser number of prisoners that prove most dangerous."
Wu Kong looked to the side. "Look, I don't know any of them personally, alright? We talked, we came together, and we helped each other bust outta this joint. From then on, we went our separate ways, yet I was still stuck trying to escape from those guys."
"That's not what I asked. "
The primate sighed as he scratched the top of his head. "Let me think...I think a croc named Bing, a red panda named Shirong, and some creepy pig dude named Ke-Pa. That was all."
Monkey and Mantis were briefly drawing blanks, though Crane's beak dropped and his eyes widened in disbelieving shock.
"...Did you say...Ke-Pa?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh, good. I thought I misheard you!" Crane breathed out, lifting his hat and wiping sweat from his brow, setting it back down. "Because now I can truly be in awe of just how MOMUMENTOUSLY STUPID YOU ARE!" He started out calmly before going into an outraged yell.
"Woah, Crane! What pissed you off all of a sudden?!" Monkey exclaimed.
"Your brother's utterly empty head is what's got me pissed!" Crane flapped his wings and cawed, and restrained himself from resorting to pecking Wu Kong's head. "Don't you know who Ke-Pa is?! The King of the Underworld Demons! They ravaged all of China until a young Master Oogway fended them all off! The encounter left Ke-Pa trapped in a mortal pig body." Crane glared at Wu Kong. "And he was just that close to you?! And you helped set him loose?!"
Wu Kong was dumbfounded by the accusation, as the seriousness of Crane's tone made him take several steps back. "W-What? There's no way that's the same pig that I was sitting next to, right?"
"Did you seriously not think twice about this?! The fact that the pig you were conversing with and helped break out of here with having the same name as the Demon King?! Did it not cross your mind that 'oh, maybe this guy IS that same guy, I should probably stay away from him'?!" Crane tucked his wings back in before narrowing his eyes. "Or, and I'm just gonna take a shot here, you didn't really pay that much attention to those implications because you were more focused on breaking out of prison. Right?"
Wu Kong had nothing to say for himself, because a part of it was actually true. He was lured in with the promise of escaping to the point where everything else that would have needed his attention ceased to be. He idly turned to Monkey, who currently had a disbelieving look on his face, while Mantis had his expression turn for the blank.
"Dude. You were being played. And it sounds like he didn't even have to try that hard, since you were so eager to escape your impending execution that you didn't pay attention."
"Well, it seems like Qing might have bigger things to worry about for the time being. That'll at least give us time to get Wu Kong outta here." Monkey sighed, not looking towards his brother for the moment.
"Let's also be a bit reasonable. If that really is the same Ke-Pa, then it's safe to say that due to his power beginning to come back, he would have freed himself eventually." Mantis sighed. "Monkey's bro simply kickstarted his movement just by talking to him."
"In any case, we gotta go. We need to warn everyone." Crane decided, already stretching his wings in preparation for flight. Monkey and Mantis made their way towards him. Though he soon noticed a brief disturbance in the wind around him. He then swiftly turned back towards the sound of pattering across the ground and walls, which was immediately covered by what seemed to be a multitude of other monkeys. "What now?!"
"WU KONG!" One of the leading monkeys shouted while pointing at the offending primate. "You're not getting away! You're going to pay for your betrayal!"
"...I'm sorry, what?" Monkey turned towards an uneasy Wu Kong for answers.
"Um...I once took over a gang known as the Monkey Chain Gang, right? We would sometimes rob people by forming a monkey chain, hence the name. Though when the authorities caught up with us for arrests...I kind of, uh...took all my things and left them behind without looking back." Wu Kong watched as both Mantis and Crane looked at him with supremely annoyed expressions. Monkey facepalmed.
"So much for honor among thieves." Crane muttered.
"WU KONG!"
Wu Kong slowly turned around to see a warthog standing on the other end of the hallway, air billowing out of his nostrils. "Heeeyyy Mao Ren. Buddy, pal! Now's not a good time."
"You've stolen all of my hard-earned gold and jewelry! And you let others steal it with no attempts to pay me back? You're DEAD!"
"How many enemies did you make?!" Crane exclaimed in exasperation.
"WU KONG!"
"I should have kept my beak shut..."
Wu Kong looked around again, to see that several vultures have flown in, lightly landing on several pieces of rubble. They leered at him with wicked eyes. "You think you can just steal food from under our beaks, and not expect retaliation? Well then, maybe we can take your tail as payment!"
"Not my tail! I'm still using it!"
"Hey, Monkey. Would you be offended if I called your brother an asshole?" Mantis muttered. Monkey thought about it, then shook his head.
"At this point? Not really."
"You're an asshole." Both Mantis and Crane deadpanned towards Wu Kong, who looked like he was about to protest. Then he realizes he already lost that right, and stayed quiet.
"Eh? You have a brother?" One of the monkeys leered towards them. "You actually involved your brother in your little escape attempt? How incredibly terrible of you."
"But this is a rather perfect way to exact our revenge!" Mao Ren agreed.
"Your brother is gonna go down with you!" The vultures cackled.
"Of course." Crane deadpanned with a wing covering his face.
"See, this is what I was talking about!" Wu Kong exclaimed towards a sighing Monkey. "It's too dangerous for you to get involved with my life! You even got your friends involved in all of this trouble trying to help me!"
"Yeah. I know." Monkey stepped in front of Wu Kong. "And that's exactly why I'm not leaving empty-pawed. If I convinced my friends to go through all this insane trouble only to have nothing come out of it, they'd all be pissed with me. So I'm getting what I can for, even if I have to fight all of Jinzhou to get it." He shook his head. "Though my various ventures across China had be build a stronger brotherly bond with dorks like these two than I ever had with you. I know they wouldn't leave me behind when I need them most, because they've proved it over and over, like right now. And I return that feeling wholeheartedly, even if we butt heads from time to time. I've got a whole bunch of brothers and sisters now that I fight alongside, and I don't intend to leave them anytime soon, if ever."
"H-Hey. You can't go saying stuff like that in a situation like this, you jerk." Crane babbled slightly, tilting his head to hide his blush and sheepish smile.
"We've got your back, Monkey. Now let's crush these guys and get your jerk of a bro out of here!" Mantis hopped onto Monkey's shoulder and prepared himself for battle.
Wu Kong looked towards Crane and Mantis, then back to Monkey. He really messed up, didn't he? In nearly every way that matters, Monkey didn't end up like him at all. In some circles, he's was drastically better off than he himself was. "But if you really feel this way, why come for me at all? Why keep going?"
"Just because I kinda hate your guts right now doesn't mean I'm willing to just leave you behind to die." Monkey retorted with narrowed eyes, not turning to Wu Kong. "Leaving my brother to die? Do you really think that little of me? What would Mom think of that kind of decision?"
That one truly silenced Wu Kong. He lowered his head with his tail hanging limp.
"Hey! Now's not the time to pity-party!" Mantis's shout snapped him out of it. "Are you gonna sit there and be useless, or are you gonna help us fight!?"
Wu Kong took a moment to process that request. After shaking his head clear, he stood next to Monkey and prepared himself for a fight.
He didn't miss that Monkey shifted closer to Mantis and Crane and further away from him.
Within the confines of Jinzhou Palace, a lot of ruckus was going on without any chance of slowing down. And with a trio of large pig guards keeping watch on things in front of many massive doors, it was fair to say that they would have to face the brunt of whatever might come towards them next. And that really didn't fill the three of them with much joy, because it meant that if they screwed up, Qing was going to take their lunch times.
They dearly hoped the intruders wouldn't head their way. That would lead to all of the bad times. Worst of all, the loss of their food.
"Please don't show up here, please don't show up here, please don't show up here..." One of them quietly begged as they lightly bowed their heads, even though it's very much unlikely that things were going to go their way.
"Maybe we weren't cut out for this job after all?" Another one asked, lightly scratching the underside of his chin. "I mean from what I heard about these guys, they're super dangerous. Not someone guys like us wanna mess with at all."
"Both of you, shut it." The lead lightly scolded them for their hesitation. "We've been hired to guard a door and not let anyone through. That's it and that's all. If we can't do anything as easy than that, then do we really deserve to eat?"
The both of them sighed at their leaders scolding. "Well, you have a point there..."
"Yeah I do! Trust me, nothing's gonna happen! And even if something does, we're more than capable o-"
"Hello hello hello!~"
The trio of guards stopped their brief banter and turned to the source of the call. During their bickering, they didn't notice someone having approached them rather brazenly approach the door without a single care in the world. And from what they could tell, this brazen person was a panda. And not just any panda, a female one who certainly dressed the part. She smiled as she raised her arms.
"Hey wait, aren't you-"
"You boys look bored and confused. Say no more! For I, the Marvelous Mei Mei, effortlessly vanquishes boredom!" She did a graceful bow, as a fan slipped out of her sleeves, which she easily caught as she began to fan herself. "Mei Mei is here to mesmerize." With this in mind, her fanning grew more gradual, and she casually strutted towards the guards before her, before she did a graceful twirl to turn her back to them and gently step away from him with an extra sway to her hips. She continued to fan herself as she knew what mostly grabbed their attention. And she does adore attention. Even if it's mostly to distract.
Besides, if she doesn't dance off her currently escalating frustrations over Lei Lei's capture for a moment, she'll be too mad to focus, and be more viable to making mistakes during the upcoming confrontations.
She slipped a ribbon from her other sleeve and twirled it around her with a majestic spin, resulting in a circular spin around her arm that expanded outwards, with the added effect of slightly glittering pink due to her channeling chi through the pink ribbon. She spins once and has the ribbon follow her, allowing it to slow outwards and create a gentle rosy pink spiral. As she said she would accomplish, the guards were mesmerized and certainly no longer bored or nervous. Enough for them to not notice three shadows sneaking behind them. With the ribbon portion of her performance complete, she slips it back into her sleeve and continues her alluring dance with just a flutter of her fan.
The guards were not only mesmerized, they were utterly enamored by the whole thing. They watched the panda woman dance, the question of why being far away from their minds. Most noticeable was the way her butt would have the most active movement due to so much movement of her swaying hips, which she seems to take great pride in. Though beyond that, the way she gracefully, almost effortlessly danced within the small space she had despite her huge frame, almost as if she were weightless, was so awe-inspiring that they couldn't help but drop their weapons and devote all their attention to watching her. With a final spin she stopped on a heel with her butt towards them, turning her head to them while fanning herself and fluttering her eyes.
They happily applauded her, their responsibilities almost completely forgotten.
"Thank you, thank you!" Mei Mei turned towards them fully with a graceful bow. "I needed that little dance break to calm myself down. Thanks for the space and opportunity!" Mei Mei then pulls herself up with a sigh. "Which is why I won't feel too good about this next part. You boys have been a lovely audience, and I hate treating a good audience this way. But I need to save my precious Lei Lei. You three are gonna have to go to sleep."
The three shadows from before leapt up from behind them.
Tigress swung her fist, Viper swung her tail, and Mei Ling swung her staff. All three of them went down in a single decisive blow. They hit the ground with heavy thuds, never knowing what hit them due to their attention solely on Mei Mei.
"At the very least, you'll have the image of my beautiful dancing to dream about." Mei Mei offered as consolation, before she hopped over them to meet the girls. "Fine work, ladies!"
"Huh. That went better than expected." Po smiled as he stepped out from behind a wall. Where numerous other guards lie unconscious, because they tried to interrupt Mei Mei's dance.
Rude.
"They were totally taken in by you!" Viper smiled brightly with Mei Mei.
"Yeah, not bad." Mei Ling folded her arms with an approving nod.
"Hm." Tigress lightly scratched her neck and looked away. "I would have been fine with you using a different form of distraction, but whatever works best for you, I suppose."
"Ease up, Tigress. I'm simply great at things like this." Mei Mei shrugged off, playfully and lightly bumping Tigress with her hip, which the feline rolled her eyes at. "Anyway, there's no time to waste. This is where that Qing guy is hiding away! I'm coming, Lei Lei!"
No one disagreed to her proceeding to bust the door down with a feminine war cry, but it definitely caught them by surprise. They all stormed into the room, before sliding to a stop.
Of course, they were expected, given how many more guards have gathered there since then.
"As I expected, you've managed to make your way here. Irritably, with little difficulty." Qing sighed as he lightly stood from his seat. "No matter. You're here, and that's the important part."
"Save your beak snapping and give Lei Lei back!" Mei Mei demanded. "I know she's here! Your men told me she's here AND I sense her! Don't you dare try and hide my precious Lei Lei from me!"
"Hey. I'm the one you've got a problem with, right?" Po asked, glaring at the crane sitting above him. "I know a crane, he's much less of a jerk. How about you focus that energy on me and leave innocent panda cubs out of it?"
"Ah yes, that would be simple, wouldn't it?" Qing lightly rubbed his beak with a sigh. "But then I'd have to just let you go free, continuing to cause chaos wherever your feet take you. You're a fuzzy ball of disorder, and that simply won't do."
"Fuzzy ball of disorder?!" Po gasped. Then he leaned closer to Viper. "I dunno if I should be offended or not."
Qing looked outside a window. "Jinzhou is currently in chaos. The most dangerous of criminals have been let loose, and I've sent my soldiers and Terracotta Warriors to deal with the threats. Once all of the sources of disorder have been crushed, people will see that my way was truly for the best, even if it didn't always feel that way." He then turned to Po. "Resolving this crisis will only strengthen people's belief in my leadership. And once that happens, I shall close off Jinzhou from the rest of China. No one shall ever leave or enter again. Only then, will Jinzhou's people be able to improve themselves. That's why I have Lei Kung at my side."
"You're going to isolate Jinzhou from everyone?!" Viper hissed. The Terra Cotta Warriors and various guards kept the gang from jumping at Qing, because Lei Lei was still at risk. "You can't! Some of these people might have loved ones that lie beyond Jinzhou's borders!"
"It is a shame. They will have to learn to live without ever heading from them." Qing pointed towards the gang. "It's a necessary precaution to prevent chaos inducers like you from getting in. The worst of this began mere hours after you entered Jinzhou. Everywhere you go, disorder follows. What else am I supposed to think?"
"Drop the 'gracious leader' guise." Mei Ling huffed, dying the crane ahead of her. She thought to herself, just how quickly Crane could wipe the floor with him, if he were here. "Weren't you the one who issued an execution order for Wu Kong? He's the older brother of one of our friends."
"I am aware. Monkey, right?" Qing waved a wing. "Misfortune that comes from being the younger brother of the so called 'King of Thieves'. Another massive chaos inducer. They'll both have to die."
"Not. Happening." Po declared resolutely.
"You're talking about a bunch of stuff that I don't care about! Where's Lei Lei?!" Mei Mei demanded once more, taking a forceful step forward.
"Woah there, beautifully large female." One rhino standing by, Hundun, raised his hands with a smile. "The little one known as Lei Lei is safe, in the hands of those that are secure in which no harm may befall her, yet."
"...You had my attention at beautifully large. Still, where is she?!"
"Right here." The gorilla to the right of Qing hummed, Lei Kung, gestured as the gang could actually see the panda girl stuck in a cage. She opened her eyes, which soon widened at the sight of Mei Mei.
"Mei Mei!"
"Lei Lei! I'm here, sweetie! I'll get you out in no time!" Mei Mei called out to her, but her vision was immediately blocked by several guards standing in between them. Her eyes narrowed. "In terms of life decisions, you're choosing VERY poorly right now. Move."
"Oh my gosh, she really is a cutie panda! How could you just put her in a cage?!" Viper gasped, then hissed angrily.
"You're asking for it, Qing. She's not a threat to you." Tigress clenched her fists and growled.
Po was the most composed. Scarily composed. "Let her go. We're the ones you're after, right? This has nothing to do with her."
"I'm afraid it's far too late for that. Though I'll give her credit, she's very well behaved. Didn't raise her voice too louddly despite her tearing up a few times and calling out for 'Mei Mei' most of the time. I assume you're her." Qing pointed to Mei Mei, who stayed focused on Lei Lei, seconds away from forcing her way through to save her. The guards and Terra Cotta Warriors were in her way.
"I can already tell from looking at you, that Qing has no chance in hell of recruiting you to his cause and vision. So we'll do things like this." Lei Kung raised a hand with a smirk, lighting surging around his body. "You're the Dragon Warrior, right? I am Lei Kung, the Thunderer. Come on up and fight me one on one. Let's see which of us is stronger!"
"Pass. I'm only here for my friends. I'm not looking for a fight." Po denied easily, waving his paw side to side. "Besides, I have enough things going on in my mind right now, and fighting you isn't gonna help me process them."
"So, no fight?"
"Nope."
"Huh." Lei Kung hummed, before he turned towards Lei Lei's cage. She gasped as he opened the cage and proceeded to roughly grab her, before turning towards the group and holding her up for the others to see. "How about now?"
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
"If you're not gonna indulge me, I'm gonna have to be the rough right hand that Qing recruited me for. And that requires me to be a little mean towards intruders. Since this little one is affiliated with you..."
"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Mei Mei viciously growled, and then others were dangerously close to attacking Lei Kung immediately, but many jumped back after a quad of Terra Cotta warriors smashed the ground in front of them and devastated the ground. The warriors were relentless. Tigress was the only one easily smashing right through them through raw physical strength, but yet another would come and occupy her without delay.
"Ah, kids. Such small and wonderful little guys and gals, full of nearly non-stop energy. It's really amazing just how much they can brighten up a person's day with nothing but their smiles." Lei Kung casually noted, uncaring of Lei Lei's whimpering. He then slowly smiled. "Which is why it's such a shame for them to also be so fragile."
The room lit up with a blue glowing light. Lightning surged all around, with several bolts shooting out and impacting the walls and ground around the area of origin. None of that mattered however. Everything else ceased to matter to the group, aside from one single thing.
Lei Lei was screaming in agony due to being ruthlessly shocked by Lei Kung's power. The gang tried even harder to fight through the forces blocking their way to the panda girl currently in int new pain. The mere sound of it was enough for both Mei Mei and Po to briefly draw blanks, which left them open to a Terra Cotta Warrior knocking them each into the ground with a massive swipe of their hardened tails. Others were still going after the rest, in which they tried their best to bash through the opposition and get to Lei Lei.
Lei Kung eventually stopped shocking the helpless panda girl. She had gone silent with several electric charges emitting off her body, and she was slightly convulsing from the pain of the shocks. The gorilla smirked.
"Still not up for a fight, Dragon Warrior? Do you need more incentive? Maybe giving her a second shock will change your m-"
Mei Mei was happy she branched out when it came to her ribbon skills. Both for dancing and for combat. It was simple, really. She mimics what she usually does while dancing, yet with a bit more force while also a bit more control. As such, she had twirled and wrapped her ribbon around Po, swung him around with several twirls, and launched him.
The end result was Po flying towards Lei Kung and slamming his fist into the gorillas face, with all the added momentum the procedure entailed.
The gorilla was sent flying against the wall, having let go of Lei Lei right at the impact. Lei Lei fell for a bit, only to be quickly caught by Tigress, having jumped after her then landing on her feet. She sighed with relief after feeling that Lei Lei was still breathing. Mei Mei was by their side immediately.
"LEI LEI! I'm here, baby! I'm here! Everything's going to be alright now!" Mei Mei exclaimed as she held out her paws, which began emitting a bright golden light that slowly enveloped Lei Lei's form, to Tigress's confusion.
"Wait. Are you healing her? How are you-"
"Explain later, healing now." Mei Mei brushed off urgently, tearing up and profusely muttering apologies to Lei Lei. "I'm sorry, sweetie! I never should have taken my eyes off of you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..."
The child barely managed to open her eyes, but she was still able to see who caught her. This caught Tigress's attention, looking the child in the eye.
"Lei Lei? It's unfortunate that we're first meeting like this, but my name is Tigress. Me, Mei Mei, and my friends came here to save you." Tigress explained briefly.
Lei Lei blinked slowly at her hero, with a lot of things around her still feeling too loud and the slight numbness from being shocked setting in, she still found the strength to reach her little paws out so they lightly touched Mei Mei's cheeks. To Tigress's bafflement, despite how hurt she was and understandably having tears of her own running down her cheeks, Lei Lei began wiping Mei Mei's tears away.
"D...Don't cry." Lei Lei begged innocently. Ignoring her own immense pain and her own tears, Lei Lei insisted on wiping the older female panda's tears away first, even if it was one at a time. "Don't cry, Mei Mei. Don't cry. Mei Mei's sad. Please don't be sad, Mei Mei..."
Tigress blinked at this. She still had enough strength to speak. And not only speak, but wipe away someone else's tears even though she has a much greater reason to cry. Despite the situation, Tigress smiled. "You're not fragile at all. You're actually a lot tougher than you look, aren't you?"
Lei Lei turned her head towards Tigress, and managed to form a small, strained, yet genuine smile. "Stripey...Baby..."
Mei Mei finished healing for the time being, standing up. "Looks like she's formed an immediate liking for you. In that case, will you hold onto her for me, Tigress? I have to go beat up a bird." Mei Mei vowed while turning towards the crane in question.
"You'll direct your anger towards me? It's on you for letting the child out of your sight in the first place. You're quite an irresponsible woman."
"Keep running your beak until I get to you. See what happens by then." Mei Mei blinked as she finally sees the two horses from before that kidnapped Lei Lei in the first place. "Oh! Hi boys!"
"Hey, it's the pretty panda lady!"
"Hi pretty panda lady!"
"Good to see you again! Say, I don't think I've paid you back enough for giving me and my friend a passage to Jinzhou. Would you like an added tip? I have a promise to keep."
The two horses blinked in confusion. "A tip? Oh, wait! I get it! You're mad about us taking the girl! Listen, we didn't know that-"
One horse found himself wrapped up in ribbons. Mei Mei forcefully pulled him towards her, in which she took a deep breath, sucked in her gut, and thrusts it forward. The horse bounces off of her belly and ends up being launched right into the wall in front of her, smashing into it.
"You kidnapped my precious Lei Lei right from under me, which lead up to this happening to her. I genuinely said good things about you being nice enough to give us a ride to Jinzhou, and you do that to us." Mei Mei narrowed her eyes. "Did you think I wasn't going to be mad? Did you think I wasn't going to take it personally?!"
The other horse gasped and held up his arms. "W-Wait! You've got it wrong! We never would have taken her if we knew-"
Mei Mei wasn't having it. She had the other horse wrapped up in ribbons too. She then repeated her process, forcefully pulling the horse towards her. Instead of punching him though, what he found launching him away was a forceful bounce off of her butt, which sent him crashing into the wall, cratering it right next to his comrade.
"Excuses, excuses. Talk to the butt, cause my ears don't care." Mei Mei huffed. She then turned towards Qing, who waved his wing as an elephant now stood in her way. He wore what appeared to be a red suit, winged gold shoes, blue headband, blue bands, blue waistband with a yellow lightning pattern. Mei Mei stared up towards him, undeterred.
"Kuai Xun, deal with her." Qing ordered, in which the elephant blew his born before staring back at the lady panda, who lightly stretched a bit while taking a breath.
"I hope you realize something. I'm getting past you. I'm getting to your boss. And I'm gonna make him pay. Lei Kung is his subordinate, he won't escape responsibility for hurting Lei Lei by proxy."
"Can't let ya do that. He's paying me quite a hefty amount. I could definitely go for some money at the moment." Kuai Xun shook his head. "Don't you feel embarrassed, though? Using your belly and your butt to fight?"
Mei Mei huffed again as she slipped out her fan and lightly fanned herself. "Those are big parts of how pandas fight. Since you're ill-informed on our style, I'll be your teacher. Do well enough to keep up, I might be graceful enough to provide a reward, via sitting on you."
"Hah! That's your big threat?"
"I like having a nice seat nearby to rest on when I defeat my enemies, and normal chairs aren't always available." Mei Mei's eyes soon darkened. "I hope you're ready, if you're gonna get in my way. I promised to really make amends to Lei Lei for allowing her to be put through all this, as well as promising to make those who made her suffer pay. And I am NOT a woman who makes empty promises."
Meanwhile, chaos had erupted around the room. Mei Ling and Viper forwent staying still and attacked the soldiers now attempting to obstruct them, profusely enraged by what they've witnessed, and would not let it go unpunished.
Mei Ling landed gracefully after smacking away another guard with a swing of her staff. And after taking a brief scan of the room, she finally noticed the croc that was lying idle in the corner of the large room. And it looked like he was beaten within the barest inch of his life. He didn't look like he was with any of the other guards, so she trekked towards him. She then jumped aside as Hundun landed in front of her with a slam, cracking the ground."
"I don't think so. You getting to him was not a thought that passed through my mind, so it shall not come to be, because I never thought of such a thing coming to pass."
Mei Ling tilted her head. "Hundun. Pfft, more like Hundundancy. You know you're basically repeating yourself several times per sentence, right?" The golden cat pointed to the downed croc. "Anyway, who's that you're trying to keep me from?"
"The creator of the Terra Cotta soldiers, Bing. Soldiers of living clay that were of his own creation, thanks to the recipe that came from his creation, which was used to create them." Hundun cracked his knuckles. "Paid for his crimes he did, in which the price was not monetary value, but intense physical violence...of pain. And soon, his son Fung shall share the same fate of paying for the crimes of his father, in which they shall share the punishment of the crime...with physical violence. And pain."
"Yeah, I'm calling you Hundundancy from now on." Mei Ling deadpans. She then backed up and shook her head. "Also hold on, this is Fung's father?! What's he doing here?! He created these Terra Cotta things? Or at least had something that led to their creation?!"
"The time for questioning is over, for I have not the answers that you seek. And soon, you won't be able to seek answers anywhere, which will leave your questions forever unanswered." With this, Hundun removes his born, to Mei Ling and Viper's initial surprise, and we're somewhat stunned rinsed something within the horn itself. Mei Ling was cautiously gazing at the rhino, until she saw his born beginning to glow brighter and brighter red. She managed to recognize it by then.
"Exploding fire gems? Move. Viper, MOVE!" The two women separated as Hundun fired a blast, which resulted in a blast of red cratering the area where they initially were. Mei Ling slid across the ground in her feet as Viper quickly caught up with her. "Viper, any plans?"
"Hmm." The girls continued to avoid the onslaught of fiery blasts, as Viper cast a gaze towards Tigress, who had jumped up and smashed apart the top half of a Terra Cotta Warrior while keeping Lei Lei in one arm. "Tigress is the only one who surely has the raw physical strength to take these warriors down herself. If we don't take care of them soon, they'll overwhelm us in no time." Viper whipped her head towards Hundun. "I'll leave Hundun to you. I'm going to find that recipe so they can't make any more. They must have dedicated a room to crafting them, somewhere."
"Gotcha. I'll take on Hundundancy." Mei Ling nodded as Viper soon slithers always while the golden cat stood tall to face down the rhino. "Alright, now you'll be fighting the top student of Lee Da Academy, for real!"
"I've heard about you. You've left without any looking back, not seeing the path you left behind while marching forward. Why?"
"I've found a much more fulfilling experience going out on an adventure than staying at the school. It was alright for what it gave, but I had a feeling I'd be able to do better this way if I just experienced things myself. Both for me, and for him." Crane came to mind once again, and she was beginning to wonder why that was happening more often.
"Very well. Then you be fighting me a fellow student, who is under the tutorship of the wrongly dishonored Vachir. Who in turn was tutored by Master Thundering Rhino and Master Flying Rhino. Rhinos of flying and thunder have taught my rhino master, who has taught me, a fellow rhino." Hundan grinned as he charged another blast from his born containing explosive fire gems. "Which means, you are outmatched, by this teaching fellowship of rhinos."
Mei Ling blinked at this revelation. Then she slowly smiled. "Is that so? That's not a mentor lineup to take lightly. Very interesting. You seem confident in your skills because of this, so I hope you don't mind if I take you on and put us both to the test!"
Po, in the meantime, was currently rocking the entire complex within his battle with Lei Kung. The gorilla smashed his fists onto the ground, with lighting surging through it and attempting to blast him with bolts of lightning. He them slammed the ground again with both fists, the seismic wave nearly knocking Po off-balance before moving forward to punch the panda with a lightning coated fist.
Po shifted his head to the side to avoid the electric fist, watching the limb smash the wall next to him. He then struck true with a Thundering Wind Hammer to Lei Kung's chest, pushing him away quite a bit. He then jumped and quickly formed a circle, before throwing the greenish circle known as a Mystic Spiral. The spiral spun and launched itself towards Lei Kung, blasting him further back.
He kept strong, however, digging his fingers into the ground to keep from being launched on his back. He looked up and grinned. "That's better. All I had to do was motivate you, is all. Ever since hearing about you, I've always wanted to have this fight. I wished for it. And now you're finally granting it for me!"
Po lightly pushed himself up, readjusting his hat. Lei Kung grinned.
"Hearing all about you and what you've done is simply amazing. You're strong, so you do what you please. You're strong, so that means you'll go wherever you want and do whatever you want! You call the shots no matter what the situation! It's quite a liberating feeling to have such power, right? We're quite alike in that regard, aren't we?"
"...When you hurt people, just like you hurt Lei Lei a moment ago...when you beat down those weaker than you with your overwhelming power...how do you feel?" Po asked quietly.
Lei Kung blinked at the question, before he laughed and beat on his chest. "In a word? Electrified!"
"Whew! That's a bit of a relief." Po breathed while wiping his brow. "I was worried for a moment. Because if that's true, then I can be sure of one thing between us."
Po adopted a face like thunder, with his chi forming an arm out of his lost limb to give him a second one for the battle. He soon stood up and pushed his hat upwards slightly so Lei Kung could fully see Po's fully incensed expression.
"You don't know me at ALL."
The Mugu Mountain monks weren't prepared for today. They didn't think anything could have prepared them for today.
It was a nice and quiet evening, with their daily meditation having cleared their minds and allowed them to further complete their duties with better efficiency, and with a genuine smile. Ever since the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five saved them from their terrible fate, they couldn't be any more grateful. And with that gratefulness, they strive to make the best of each day that comes, and do their best to make sure something like what happened before never does again. For the most part, they have certainly kept that promise.
What happened to them now wasn't their fault. They couldn't have prepared for this. How could they?
What was the Demon King doing here?
They could tell it was him due to the sheer volume of the malevolence he generated. It couldn't be anyone else.
"Good evening, monks. Don't mind me, I'm just passing by." Ke-Pa landed gently upon the ground, as the monks levitating around him struggled to escape his grip. But he didn't even feel bothered by said struggles, or even feel them at all.
"Y-You demon!"
"Yes. I am a demon. The Demon King, as a matter of fact. Sheesh, state the obvious, will ya?" Ke-Pa hummed as he stopped in front of a spot. "Ah. Right around here. I'm sensing a power here."
It didn't take long for them to figure out what he was intending to do. "Y-You're seriously not trying to...don't bother! What you're intending to do is impossible!"
"Pfft, maybe with that attitude it is Bunch of downers, you are." Ke-Pa held out his arm, as his eyes began to glow red with the channeling of his demonic magic.
More of his power was beginning to return, moment by moment. It was by no means full, but at the very least, he should be able to manage something as trivial as this. He couldn't call himself the Demon King if he couldn't. Thus, he shall. With a smile, he could see and hear cracks beginning to form in the air, much to the monks growing terror.
"Let's pull back this pesky boundary, shall we? I personally think you've been in time-out long enough."
Ke-Pa pulled his arm back, and the air itself seemed to shatter like glass. In place of the cracks, a very familiar figure soon manifested in a glowing ball of blue energy. Ke-Pa placed his arms behind his back with an approving nod.
"There we are. That's much better. It's very important to get some fresh air after being stuck on a mountain with no way to escape. Ding, was it? Master Ding, being the full term?"
The ghostly pig, now carrying a more demonic energy within him, slowly opened his eyes as he gazed at the slightly smaller pig before him. "Demon King Ke-Pa?"
"That's my name, it's never gonna wear out." Ke-Pa chuckled with a salute. "So, how are you feeling after being freed from your shackles? Sick? Stiff? Need to stretch a little bit so you don't pull anything?"
"I know why you've freed me." Ding said slowly while hovering in front of Ke-Pa. "You wish for me to serve you."
"I needed to think it over, due ton the fact that your spirit was born from a mortal. But you're currently filled with so much amazing malice. All I needed to add was a bit of a pinch of my energy and now look at you! You're a Demon Pig!"
"Hm. I suppose I am." Ding nodded while lightly levitating around Ke-Pa and rubbing his on chin. "You freed me from eternal imprisonment And judging by that, you could very easily put me back if you wished."
"You're a fast learner. I like that." Ke-Pa lightly patted Ding's shoulder. "Just do as you're told, and you'll be fine! Oh, by the way, will you still need to connect to your Spirit Orbs? To enhance your focus and power and whatnot?"
Ding gently opened and closed his palm, feeling surges of power throughout his arm. He turned towards the temple. Then towards the village that accompanied the temple. And eventually the entire Mugu Mountain itself.
A swipe of his arm ensures, as both the temple and the village was devastated by a powerful blast of telekinetic energy. Soon both caught on fire, which quickly began to spread, and anyone who hasn't been hurt or killed by the blast tried running for their lives, but found themselves trapped by an invisible wall. Ding would watch as their only escape was taken from them, and they could do nothing but wait fearfully for the incoming fire to consume them. The light of the flames reflected off of his eyes as he knew they would all burn.
"...No. Thanks to you, I believe I've finally outgrown them. It's about time I started relying on my own powers rather than have those things be my crutch. If there's anything I've learned from those fools, it's that."
"Going the path of 'true power comes from within', eh? Interesting. Still, you don't you think you'll be able to do better with them?"
Ding turned to Ke-Pa, power surging through his being as he gave a demonic smile, much to the latter's approval.
"Watch me do better without them."
"Ohoho! Lookie here! Been out of Oblivion for several moments and you're already regaining your confidence! Good for you!" Ke-Pa turned to the levitating monks, and mockingly bowed to them. "Thanks for having me in your humble abode. I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing."
"W-What? But how?! You've destroyed our home! It's all in flames!"
"Exactly. It's getting quite cold up here, so I'm sure you'll want to warm up quickly. Ding was even gracious enough to get a fire going for you! What a nice guy he is, right? Anyway, I can't take you guys with me, so I'll have to let you down gently." Ke-Pa waved goodbye to the monks as he allowed them all to fall into the flames, with desperate cries for help going ultimately unheeded as they were still unable to struggle or free themselves from his grip. Only once he felt them being fully consumed by the flames did he relinquish his grip on them, leaving their corpses to burn. "Ah, nothing quite warms the body like a nice fire. Though they might have gotten the wrong idea to literally bathe in it. Silly, right?"
"Whatever. Good riddance." Ding spat, turning his back on the burning mountain with a huff. "So, what now?"
Ke-Pa gestured for Ding to follow him. "Come, Ding. Let us discuss your role as a newly reborn demon."
The entire time Ding followed him, he was able to sense Ke-Pa's true self. It may have not been clear to others, but he was able to get a much better reading in just who he is and how deep his malevolence was. The dark, sinister silhouette of a dragon followed Ke-Pa wherever he went, which would be briefly hover around his body, further reaffirming that his current body was his sealed form. And he was already terrifyingly powerful in his weakened state.
Who knows what he'll do once his full power comes back? At any rate, thanks to him, Ding was a demon pig now.
Might as well fully embrace this new role, and act the part.
Throughout my return to writing this story more frequently, I have grown to really like writing a few characters in particular.
Mei Mei, Master Croc, and Ke-Pa.
Mei Mei is becoming really fun for me. Writing her when she's being silly, being sweet, being spirited, being sassy, and being serious is a joy. The third movie didn't really do too much with her. It almost did, with a whole arranged marriage plot with Po. Given how some reviews pointed out that Mei Mei was NOT liked by the fanbase at the time of it's release for very obvious reasons, it's not too much of a shock that they ultimately cut it by release, in which case the hate died down a bit. Though it came at the cost of reducing her prominence a bit. So, I did a bit more with her, firstly by not having her only connection being with Po. So far, she's his childhood friend here, but she also admires Tigress's stronger than iron female determination and resolves to become her 'bestie', has gentle respect for/from Li Shan given he trusted her enough to come with him, a slight interest from Viper due to both of them sharing a passion for ribbon dancing, and is deeply, DEEPLY protective of Lei Lei. With all that in mind, I wondered how I would fare writing her, and if people would like her more or less here. Given how some are already grateful I didn't go for a love triangle with her, Tigress, and Po, I must be doing something right so far.
Master Croc, I was surprised that I'd come to grow fond of, through his bond with Fung. There will be more on that next chapter, but it's safe to say that out of the Kung Fu Council, somehow Croc ended up being the one where most of my effort goes into, and he ended up being my favorite. Not that I don't put in effort at all, mind you. Especially in regards to their near constant bantering with their arch rivals, the Wu Sisters. And as another few pointed out, it's not even a contest regarding who's a better influence on Fung: Croc or Bing. Again, there will be more on this next chapter, so if you don't mind, save comments regarding those three until then, because I'll be trying to have it REALLY be put into prospective just how similar yet different Fung is when he has a supportive crocodile figure to look up to-despite their brief cracks back in Gongmen-and not someone like...well, Bing.(Don't worry, it's already mostly done.)
Lastly, Ke-Pa. Some appreciate just how much more dangerous and malevolent he feels here, and a few enjoy his characterization here. And for me, it's kind of hilarious for me to write just how quickly he switches from calm politeness to callous cruelty as easily as walking down the street, with just as much effort in doing so. Just wait until he gets his full power back and he gets really hammy. Ironic, considering by then, he won't be a pig anymore. In any case, he'll pop up here and there in some chapters until he begins acting in full force. And thanks to his massive prison break in Jinzhou, the heroes can't immediately focus on him without leaving the citizens in very dire straits, which gives him plenty of time to act on his plans, since he knows they're not going to turn their backs on people in trouble, even if it means the bigger issue escapes uninterrupted.
(Added note: I'll be doing a bit of cleaning up of my earlier chapters, mostly grammer and spelling wise. From chapter one to current. Obviously it won't be perfect, but I still wanna do it. As you can see by the publish date, I started this little tale quite a while ago. I was a much younger person who was also quite an eager beaver, and thus wasn't too concerned with how chapters looked grammer/spelling wise. But now some misspelled and random garble of text things are so blatantly unacceptable to current me that they just BOTHER me. As in 'how'd you let that happen?!' levels of bother me. In any case, you can imagine how long THAT will take. I'll still be writing current chapters, but if the story seemingly updates yet you don't see the chapter number go up, that's why. Just a heads up.)
(Funny note: I rewatched the LOA episode 'Sight for Sore Eyes'. The part where Po blinded himself again with the Golden Lotus Clap so he blew out the torch with a kick so Junjie couldn't see in the dark either. The latter is forced against the wall, and says 'If I could see you, this would be over in a second.'
Given how Po was trained by Fenghuang-who's an even dirtier and more shameless fighter than Junjie-of all people in this story, I just imagined this AU's version of him in that scenario and saying 'Weelll then it's a good thing you can't see me. ;D'
Just gave me a slight little laugh thinking about it. Could you see this Po doing that?)
Well anyways, that's all I have to say here for now. Until next time!