Of all of the things Fenghuang expected to happen today, getting her eye ripped out of it's socket was not one of them.
Even ignoring the fact that it hurt like hell, her vision has just been reduced by half. That was seriously going to tamper with her combat ability, trying to fight with one eye after years of fighting with two. She'd need to adapt quickly. Never mind flying around with one eye, that's going to take practice as well. And she really didn't need to be at such a serious disadvantage, given the foe that just showed up before them.
This entire day just went from decent to disaster VERY quickly and she had little to no time to actually prepare for any of it.
"You know, I once heard a saying that beauty is within the eye of the beholder." Ke-Pa tilted his head as he observed Fenghuang's levitating eye before him. "I don't think it covers that eye being yanked out of it's socket, though. Bit of a loophole, don't you think?"
"Why you...!" Tai Lung snarled, his fur getting frizzled and feral.
"Awww, is the Wannabe Dragon Warrior all angry that I hurt the mentor giving him advice? You gonna throw another temper tantrum? You act like an overgrown kitten who hasn't been properly disciplined. But ya know what? I'm a fair demon when I try to be. I'll give you a chance." Ke-Pa casually crushes Fenghuang's eye, tosses it away, and opens his arms. "Two minutes. Take your best shot. And if you impress me, I'll consider killing you now or later, quick and painless or slow and agonizing. Sounds like a good deal from a Demon King, doesn't it?" Ke-Pa tilted his head with a smirk. "Anything can happen, right? Maybe you'll actually end up slaying me, and truly earn the title 'Dragon Warrior'!"
"Shut your mouth!"
"That, or you'll be brutally defeated and thus invalidate all of that hard work you put in, and all that effort Shifu put into you. Heck, your name means 'Great Dragon' of all things! He really was betting on you quite a bit, wasn't he? Talk about pressure!" Ke-Pa's beckoned Tai Lung with a paw. "So come on then, 'Great Dragon'. Prove once and for all that Shifu adopting you, training you, and loving you wasn't a complete and total waste of his time." His smirked turned darker and more sinister. "Maybe if you're victorious, he'll acknowledge that great victory, then you'll finally get that 'Daddy's so proud of me!' feeling you've been so desperate for!"
Tai Lung roared as he charged towards the pig on all fours, with Fenghuang reaching out her wing. "Damn it, you fool! He's goading you!"
It was no use. Tai Lung couldn't hear anything hut his own infuriated roars as he jumped up and kicked Ke-Pa across the head, sending the pig flying across the field on his face. He chuckled a bit, standing back up and wiping his nose.
"Sheesh, somebody's snappy. Did I press a few buttons? How sensitive are you?"
Tai Lung roared as he charged forth on all fours, before jumping up and spinning forwards to smash his face with both of his large fists, which Ke-Pa takes head-on. He grunted as he was sent flying across the field, before landing in a heap. Tai Lung breathed heavily, his fur making him look feral, paired with his absolutely monstrous snarling.
Ke-Pa found it cute. Like a kitten with dull claws attempting to claw something much bigger than it while mewling.
The pig got up from the ground, smiling as he brushed some dirt off of his shoulder. "That all ya got? What are these kitten punches, Tai Lung? Thought you were better than that. C'mon! Ya have to at least make it hurt before time's up!"
Tai Lung snarled as he charged Ke-Pa again, whom was waiting patiently with his arms behind his back. He nonchalantly takes another heavy blow to the face, then another, yet another. Blow after blow, punch after punch, kick after kick, Ke-Pa took every one of them head-on. And he didn't seem the least bit bothered by any of it. In fact, he seemed more interested in how far Tai Lung can go before tiring himself out than possibly getting legitimately hurt.
Fenghuang couldn't help but shiver at this, as it established a very clear difference between them and the Demon King, even in this drastically weakened form.
Roaring with sheer fury, Tai Lung kicked Ke-Pa upwards, hard enough for the impact to cause several splinters in the ground to spread out around the area of impact, before the pig was sent soaring into the air. Tai Lung's muscles tensed, before he did a huge jump upwards to follow the pig. With a roar, he managed to briefly pass him, before sending him back down with an axe kick, cratering the ground. He himself fell back down as he extended both his fists downward in a dive, before slamming right down onto the pig.
Fenghuang grunted as the impact created a huge dirt cloud, forcing her to close her eye and shield her face with her wing. "This blasted fool..."
Tai Lung breathed heavily as he rose up from the even deeper crater he managed to make into the ground. Ke-Pa was collapsed in front of him, laid out across the ground with closed eyes. Tai Lung's eyes, filled with fury, aren't fooled by this display in the slightest. Snarling through his fangs, he roared as he unsheathed his claws and went to crush the pig's face.
Said pig stopped the blow with a gesture of a hand. Tai Lung's eyes widened in shock, having been stopped in place as Ke-Pa slowly gets up no worse for wear, brushing dirt off of his shoulder.
"Okay, I know I said two minutes, but it seems I gave you one extra because of how desperate you looked to do any sort of damage." Ke-Pa smiled. "Ain't I a generous sort? You agree, don't you? Let's shake on it!" Ke-Pa reaches out to grab Tai Lung's paw, holding on to it before easily lifting him up overhead and slamming his back into the ground behind him, causing a deeper crater in the earth even larger and wider than the one Tai Lung made.
"GRAGH!"
"Tai Lu-" Fenghuang tried to fly in, only to be repelled by a blast of lightning from the pig's other hand, landing in a lightning caged heap. The pig shook his head, clicking his tongue.
"Now now, don't go hooting randomly like that. While I'm impressed you're so willing to fight soon after losing half of your vision, I'm busy with the kitty." The pig turned back to Tai Lung, tilting his head. "Anyway, the whole 'Dragon Warrior' thing. Not gonna lie, that's quite a catchy name. You think China's gonna mind if I call myself that? I'm thinking of being known as 'Dragon Warrior Ke-Pa', or maybe stick to being 'Demon King Ke-Pa'. Oh wait, I've got it! Maybe I'll mix them together and call myself 'Demon Dragon Warrior King Ke-Pa'! Whew, that's a mouthful. Whaddya think?"
"Ngh..."
"Oh come on, I didn't swing you THAT hard, did I? No taunts? No roars, snarls? Not a single aggressive meow to be had? You were so full of fighting spirit a few seconds ago! What happened?" The pig hummed, before smiling. "Ah, I got an idea. Ya just need a jolt to get ya moving again, right? I can help with that!" Lightning surged from Ke-Pa's paw and into Tai Lung, painfully shocking the snow leopard as he roared out in agony. "There! Ya just needed some motivational support, that's all!"
Eventually Ke-Pa lets go. Tai Lung breathed heavier and harder as he was covered in burn marks from the heavy electric shocks. Yet regardless, he growled deeply as he slowly stands back on his feet, his paws on his knees as he glared at the smirking pig before him.
"Damn pig. Think you can...defeat me? This is your last...chance to surrender. Before you REALLY get hurt!"
Ke-Pa laughed darkly, his eyes gleaming. "Tempting offer, very persuasive! I appreciate you taking my wellbeing into consideration. That being said, here's a counteroffer."
Despite the sheer size difference between the two of them, Croc found himself fighting evenly with Lidong.
The tail swipes that connected with each other kept impacting one another enough to cause quakes in the ground around them, which further promoted any further civilians to get away from the area as soon as possible. Lidong roared as he smashed his fists on top of Croc, which were blocked with his sturdy hide. Regardless, he couldn't help but grunt as he still felt a bit of pain from the heavy blow.
"It's as Fung said, his cousin has been gifted with great physical might to accommodate his sheer size." Croc noted as he spun on a heel and deflected yet another blow from Lidong to offset the punch, redirecting it harmlessly into the ground next to him. He used the brief opening to spin and tail slap Lidong across the face, strong enough to send the larger croc stumbling back until he fell. "It's tricky, even if he doesn't have the skill to wield it properly. He's just sturdy enough where he could overpower most things through sheer force."
Lidong growled as he slowly got up, before charging towards Croc again. He attempted to ocean into the shorter Croc, though was apprehended when Croc not only sidestepped it entirely, he used his tail to sweep his legs from underneath him, making him fall on his front, rumbling the ground. Though before he could follow up, Lidong recovered quickly and swung a large fist towards Croc, who once again turned to endure it with his hide.
He gasped as he felt his tail being forcibly grabbed, and he was lifted info the air.
It was a feint!
Lidong roared as he swing downward and slammed Croc into the ground, front first. He lifted him again and slammed him again, Croc getting slightly disoriented from the devastating blows, before he was tossed away. He was thrown forcibly enough to crash right into a Terracotta Warrior, enough to break it in half, knocking the top half off.
Croc grunted, picking himself up and spitting dirt out of his jaws before he lifted his head to meet Lidong again. When he got a brief look at him, something caught his eyes.
Giant paw marks on the sides of Lidong's head. They looked like scars, even. The marks themselves seem to be that of a gorilla's. They looked a lot like scorch marks of sorts.
Was he burned around his head? What could it mean? What was strong enough to do that? Croc felt the tough scales of Lidong for himself, so that certainly wasn't an easy feat.
Regardless, he couldn't delve into it more deeply, as the larger reptile continued his ruthless assault, leaping towards him with his fists raised. Narrowing his eyes, Croc leapt and swung his tail upwards, slapping it against the larger reptile's jaw and sending him flying back, lying on his side. Moments later, Lidong stood back up while snarling.
"Monstrous durability, this one wields..."
In the meantime, Fung and Song were keeping the Terra Cotta warriors at bay, with the civilians having finished retreating from the area for the most part. Though the continued attacks from the large warriors were unlikely to stop for very long.
Out of the duo, only Fung was able to actually do damage and being capable of destroying the soldiers with whatever strength he could wield. Though Song was definitely more agile than he was, thus it was easier for her to avoid their slow and easy to read blows.
The problem was when they started attacking simultaneously, in a single moment.
"WATCH OUT!"
Fung quickly pushed Song out of the way as several Terracotta Warriors smashed their fists down where she stood, the impact causing the earth to surge upwards and crash outwards. The duo were heard groaning, collapsed on the ground and beginning to recover.
"Ugh...Song, are you alri-" Fung lifted his head and turned to make sure Song was okay.
"Ooh!"
Fung heard the gasp when he turned. When he opened his eyes, he blushed deeply as his snout bumped into Song's shapely rear when she was in the middle of standing back up, as he himself was trying to regain his sense of surroundings. Fung quickly jumped back while holding his snout, turning away.
"Sorry, sorry!" He exclaimed while getting back focusing back in the Terra Cotta Warriors. Because honestly, facing them instantly became a lot easier to bear than looking at Song right now. He narrowed his eyes as he jumped up and swung his tail against one, knocking it's head clean off and smashing it into the ground.
"You're fine, Fung." Song reassured as she lightly stood back up, a bit reddened from her butt being unexpectedly touched when Fung was turning towards her. She managed to brush it off quickly as she focused on a more important battle at hand. Seeing Shifu up ahead fighting the Lin Kuei, she had a feeling that things were getting rather serious over there, very quickly.
Hmm. Maybe I help can turn the tides a little bit.
With a goal in mind, Song began moving on her own.
Shifu didn't believe that the Lin Kuei had any intentions of holding back at all this time, because they've truly began pulling out all of the stops.
A rain of chain hammers from multiple directions, trying to smash into Shifu and his brief division. He managed to near effortlessly avoid them all due to his short stature and speed, becoming even harder for them to bit accurately. Not to mention that whenever he had the opportunity, he would occasionally outright smash them into pieces whenever he struck just strong and quickly enough.
Looking to the side, he was able to see Master Thundering Rhino dealing with his former disciple, Vachir. Mixed feelings were had on him, as he recalled Tai Lung's story involving him giving the scar over his eye. Intensity grew within him over that memory, but he allowed it to pass. Vachir was Rhino's priority to focus on.
"I really can't believe you would fall so far." Rhino narrowed his eyes as his Cloud Hammer parried many a strike from Vachir's own weapon, brief alarms flying from each impact. Vachir laughed as he's struck again and again, in an attempt to push Rhino back and to for a crippling blow.
Rhino hasn't budged an inch. He looked more disappointed than angry.
"Ha! This is great!" Su Wu laughed, sitting on a nearby rooftop while slapping her knee. "He has all of that tough talk and isn't even strong enough to reinforce it! Oh how weak and pathetic he is!"
"Shut your trap, Su Wu!" Vachir shouted at her as he attempted to push Thundering Rhino back more forcefully. "As soon as I defeat Thundering Rhino, I'll be taking you out too!" Su Wu could only clasp her paws and tilted her head cutely.
"Aw, what a guileless little thing you are! Your words are just so cute! You actually think you're a threat to me!"
Thundering Rhino sighed as he parried upwards, knocking Vachir's hammer upwards while barely feeling the impacts, once he planted his feet. He then twirled his hammer once and thrusts forward, slamming it right into Vachir's chest. The blow knocked the wind out of him, and he was sent crashing across the ground until he came to a painful stop, flat on his back.
Rhino waited for a moment to see if he would rise. Realizing that he would not, he sighed and righted himself while shaking his head. Su shook her head with a shrug.
"Pitiful. You went out of your way to call him out to fight, and you buckle and crash before you can even finish? Rhino really was better off without you." She turned to the horned warrior himself and huffed. "You gotta choose your students better."
"Indeed..." Rhino reluctantly agreed with a sigh.
"Hmm..." Su Wu's ear flicked slightly as she turned her head to the right, eyes narrowing. "Something troublesome is coming this way."
"Do you have an idea on what it could be?"
"Not a bit, but I can already tell it's gonna cause both of us a ton of headaches." Su Wu hummed, before she stood up and clapped her paws. "Wu Sisters!"
"Eh?" Wing turned towards her eldest, briefly hopping of Ox to kick a warthog in the face.
"What's goin' on, sis?" Wan asked curiously, casually smashing a wolf's head into the concrete below them.
"To me! These Terra Cotta Warriors are a nuisance." Su Wu narrowed her eyes. "It's time to use an old favorite technique of ours."
Both Wu Sisters blinked, them smiled widely as they both regrouped towards Su Wu, with the lead sister's arms being folded. Wan and Wing growled in preparation as the trio's tails soon extended towards each other and attached themselves in place. They then unsheathed their claws and jumped high into the air, and began to spin rapidly.
Rhino and Ox's eyes widened at the sight of the move, and Croc's back suddenly winced at the memory of this attack. One of the few that nearly overcame his impenetrable hide.
"WU VORTEX!"
All three of them roared in unison as their spinning quickly enough to appear as a blur, a twister of sharp claws slashing everything around them. Spinning towards a single Terra Cotta Warrior. It tried to punch the vortex, only for it's fist to be destroyed almost instantly, then it's entire body was completely shredded to pieces despite it's inherent toughness. The vortex soon spread to other areas where the warriors were, effortlessly tearing them all apart everywhere it went. Croc could swear that amidst the attack, the trio of snow leopards were laughing with maniacal glee at how much they were tearing apart their opposition.
Their special attack has gotten significantly stronger. Perhaps because they each gotten stronger on their own, and thus their cooperation attack grows significantly more powerful. Maybe this attack was a strong indicator of the sibling trio's unbreakable bond.
I'd find myself in a swift and painful position if I tried to defend against that again without preparation. Croc thought with a nervous sigh.
After several minutes of holding the attack, the Wu Sisters stopped in place, and separated. Su brushed some dust off her shoulders and surveyed the resulting damage they've done.
All of the Terra Cotta Warriors in the current area have been completely torn apart.
"Hah! We still got it, girls!" Wing pumped her fist and hi fived Wan.
"We showed those giant walking Terra Cotta dolls what's what!"
"Indeed. Now we shall head to various parts of Jinzhou and repeat the process. Move out." Wing and Wan vanished in a shadowy blur at Su's command. Su turned towards Rhino. "I do plead to not find you defeated before I return. Don't give me another reason to laugh and mock you."
"Hmph." Rhino huffed at the smirking woman, who vanished in a blur herself.
Fung marveled at the destructive power the Wu Sisters displayed, and quietly showed gratitude that they were not enemies. Given how they've bested Rhino, Croc, and Ox when they were brainwashed by Pang Bing, it's safe to say that they've gotten incredibly more powerful. Fortunately for everyone involved, they were all on the same side, especially with Lian a part of the group.
Never mind that, though. He had to help his master get Lidong to his senses.
Shifu jumped back as a chain hammer slammed onto the spot he just stood, owned by the still furious Heilang. Multiple chain hammers shot out towards him from several different directions, though he managed to deflect all of them effortlessly, as well as avoiding them all with perfect timing. He sighed softly, before narrowing his eyes and making a dash for the offending wolf.
"AHAHAHA! EAT CHAINS, MANGY MUTTS!"
He could also hear his dear friend Taotie smashing wolves away with his mechanical arms, which also shot out chains that would serve to restrain them effortlessly. While it's true that Taotie wanted to dedicate more of his inventions towards helping rather than simply propping himself up, Shifu couldn't help but feel that he might be getting too into it. Maybe he'd ask him to tone it back just a little, if only because he might hurt himself or others.
Shifu narrowed as he then noticed a flurry of throwing knives being tossed his way. Quickly standing his ground, he deflected them all with his bare paws, tipping one forward and kicking it back towards the sender, briefly nicking them across the cheek. It caught them by surprise, and they ended up falling on their side from the shock.
"Heilang, you won't be winning this battle. I won't let you escape. You'll face justice here." Shifu declared strongly.
"I don't think so, rat. You're going to die here, helpless and alone in the dark." Heilang muttered as he reached for his Shadow Crown...only to grab at nothing. His eyes widened as he stared at his empty paw. "What the-?!"
"Looking for these, pup?" Mei Ling stuck out her tongue as she, Shirong, and Song had several Shadow crowns gathered in their paws. The rest of the members of the Lin Kuei were baffled as they briefly checked to see that all of their shadow crowns have indeed been stolen from them. Both women were wearing devious smirks on their faces at their sneaky and silent victory over them in terms of thievery. They didn't even notice due to how focused they were on Shifu. "Amateur thieves is what you are, boys. Didn't even notice us swiping these off of you."
"So much for being fearsome assassins and thieves. You're quite a bit too angry to be very good at either, aren't you?" Shirong noted with a knowing smile, seeing the spreading snarl across the furious wolf's muzzle. "Do try not to be so angry with my son, I need to have quite a big talk with him later. So he won't be dying today. Especially not while I can help it."
Heilang howled and actually attempted pouncing at the trio, but was smacked aside by the mechanical hands from Taotie's creation, which made him quite capable to a degree. Heilang crashed against a building as Taotie shot a chain to restrain him, which he quickly rolled out of the way to avoid. It left him unable to avoid Shifu's strike to his cheek when he was a bit too slow to recover, crashing across the ground.
"Accept your defeat, Heilang."
"Tch, never."
Shifu sighed as he went on the offensive again, only to briefly stumble as the entire ground shook for several moments. Then it shook massively again, and again.
"Uh, what's that?" Taotie wondered, as one of his mechanical arms immediately smashed down onto a wolf that tried to sneak up on him. "Shifu, you certainly heard what that was, right?"
"Something huge, and powerful." Two things Shifu knew for certain, yet nothing else for the moment.
That certainty was confirmed, when Storming Ox suddenly landed right before him, having been completely knocked out, and appeared to have been beaten bloody. Shifu's eyes widened at the sight, before they sharpened quickly to focus on who was responsible for it.
"Weak...so incredibly weak...Boar is stronger!"
"Oh good, it's going to be one of those nights." Taotie muttered as he could see the huge figure over the horizon.
One could see that it looked a lot like many of the other boars they've seen. But the main difference was that this one was absolutely massive. Shifu ahs never seen a boar of this ridiculous size all of his life, until now. In terms of sheer bulk, he was around as big as Lidong, if only a bit wider. He was wearing a tattered open vest with equally torn pants, with a sash around his waist. And chains around his arms.
How they managed to restrain this person, Shifu would be fascinated to know.
But what mattered was that nearly every one of Shifu's senses were telling him that this boar was seriously bad news, and he would have to approach the problem with care. Or else he and everyone around them would get hurt.
Unfortunate, due to what happened next.
"Come on! I want to fight someone who's strong! NONE OF YOU ARE STRONG AT ALL!"
In all honestly, Shifu was prepared to write him off as another huge brute with no self-control.
Then Boar actually attacked.
"SHIFU, COVER!" Shifu could hear Shirong desperately shout at him, but it was far too late by then.
He slammed his fists onto the ground, and devastation ensued. Shifu didn't even get to witness some of it happen in real time, because right when he felt the earth around him disrupt his balance, a whole house managed to crash into him before he could break through it, and he ended up passing out.
Later, about four minutes, Shifu eventually woke up, his eyes slowly sliding open before completely becoming wide.
"What in the..."
The entire area had been utterly decimated. Wreck buildings were now completely reduced to rubble, there were large surges of the earth spiked upwards and outwards, and flames ensued around several parts of the crash sites. And standing right in the center of all of it was the huge boar that effortlessly caused so much destruction in a single stroke.
Shifu turned head, seeing both Taotie and Mei Ling collapsed on their sides, with the former's gear being completely destroyed from the aftermath. Mei Ling seemed to struggle to stand, only managing several seconds before collapsing again. Shifu got the sinking feeling that they were out of the fight. And as he turned over again to a wider area, Rhino and Ox we're out as well, with Song limping slightly into cover with hisses of pain.
Only Master Croc and Fung still seemed to be in fighting shape, as Lidong took the least amount of damage out of everyone.
Shifu needed to find a way to get his injured comrades and father out of the battlefield, because they're extremely vulnerable right now. But he himself was injured enough where he couldn't move as fast.
Regardless if he could or couldn't, he had to do it.
"All of you are done already? No one's strong enough to fight me?" The boar groaned in slight annoyance, before turning towards the hissing Song, who immediately noticed being spotted. "You're still awake! You can fight me!"
"Oh of course he singled me out." Song deadpanned. Not even enough energy to be scared.
Shifu didn't hesitate to act. Anything could be used as a distraction of sorts, so long as he drew the Boar's attention away from her.
So he picked up a rock nearby, and threw it hard towards the back of Boar's skull. Now, if it were simply a normal rock, he would have barely felt it. But briefly infusing his chi into it allowed it to hit twice as hard, which was enough to loudly smack against his skull and briefly make him double over. Though not in pain, mostly surprise. He turned towards Shifu, who forced himself to stand against him, even though he was wrecked with pain.
"Who the heck are you, puny mouse thing?" Boar asked, rather condescendingly.
Shifu took a breath, and slowly slide into a stance, drawing his paws inwards.
"If you wish to fight someone so badly, very well. But not them. You can fight me."
Heilang, who was also gravely injured from the massive attack, managed to muster up the will to stand, holding up his bleeding arm. "You think this is gonna go well for you, you rat? You're not getting out of this alive. We're turning the odds against you!"
"I'm afraid you'll be doing no such thing." Shirong hummed as he briefly appeared before them in a gust of wind, with his head slightly bruised and his right pant leg torn. "My son is made his resolve clear. I won't allow anyone to interfere with that. I'll allow my son to protect his friends."
Heilang snarled at the older man, as Shirong brought his paw up towards the wolves, prepared to fight them. Even though their eyes narrowed fiercely and snarled savagely, Shirong didn't step back in the slightest. In fact, he narrowed his eyes with a fiercer glare.
"I'm in the ideal position to seek retribution. You've caused my son so much suffering. I won't let you get away with it."
Wu Kong can't honestly say he was expecting all of this to be going down.
Several super strong enemies were surrounding him, including the crane that he seriously messed up for bad-mouthing his brother. And now his brother was fighting alongside his friends, while he was stuck with watching over a panda cub of all things. He didn't think any pandas were still around, but here they were. Apparently there was a big guy one somewhere who wants to be everybody's friend?
In all seriousness, it did bring him some peace that Monkey really did find himself a reliable group to be a part of, especially when it came to fighting together.
"So lemme just summarize everything that's went down so far since we don't have time or space for something more in-depth!" Monkey shouted as he flipped over a blast of lightning from the now maddened and lightning power crazed Qing. "You all went after the crazy guy in charge, his right hand magical lightning thunder gorilla shook his wing, and all of a sudden he and the other cronies gained a massive, lightning and thunder based power boost?!"
"That's pretty much the gist of it!" Tigress shouted back as she too jumped over a large blast of lightning.
"I thought so. Okay, I'm definitely calling bullshit on that!"
"That does seem to be the slightest bit unfair, if you ask me!" Crane couldn't help but agree, flying a around the room dodging blasts of lightning from Hundun.
"Whether it is or isn't, we have to deal with it! Jinzhou will continue to suffer from their tyranny if this keeps up! We cannot allow that to happen!" Tigress voiced as she kicked the ground, a chunk of it rising up and blocking a blast of lightning that shattered it apart. She was already on the move before the second one shot at where she was.
"We're on it, Boss!" Mantis shouted as he and Kuai Xun briefly clashed, hitting away from each other and causing a brief spray of lightning to spark all around them. The elephant grunted at this predicament.
"This is unbelievable! You shouldn't be keeping up with me!"
"Well believe it, bud. I'm keeping up with ya! Quite easily, might I add!" Mantis chuckled as he briefly kicked at the elephant. The larger for vanished Inna flash of lightning, appearing behind Mantis and smashing his fist into the insect. Mantis went crashing into the wall, making a small cracked dent into it. "Ow...okay, maybe taunting him isn't the best of ideas."
Kuai Xun ran towards him with the intent of shoulder bashing him. Though he soon gasped and seemingly tripped over himself, rolling about and crashing into the wall right next to Mantis, barely missing him. The insect pulled himself free and saw what tripped his foe up.
"Might want to pay attention when you're running. Never know when you might trip over something." Viper hissed as she curled back around Mei Mei's arm, having been used as a whip to lash her tail at Kuai Xun's legs and making him lose balance while running. "Especially with someone as fast as you."
"Why you...!"
"You're so quick to be a jerk and yet so incredibly slow. You could at least use that precious speed for something actually productive!" Viper hissed again as she slithered back around Mei Mei. Kuai Xun attempted to charge towards them at high speed once more, but was stopped by Mantis's intervention again, having zipped in front of him and kicked away an incoming punch that was sent her way.
"You ain't gonna get anywhere that way, bud!"
"Then how about this?!"
Mantis blinked as Kuai Xun vanished in a flash of lightning. Mantis blinked, before he felt the weight of a massive fist smashing down on him from above, burying him into the ground and causing lightning surges to blast outwards from the impact.
"Ngh...!" Mantis gritted his teeth as be barely held up the fist, being extra difficult to do because of the aforementioned lightning making it stronger, as well as shocking him all over.
"I'll crush you like a-"
"Don't say it!"
Mei Mei gasped as it really did appear like Mantis was going to get crushed at this rate. She turned to Viper with urgency. "Viper, throw me!"
"Okay!" Viper slithered down Mei Mei, right around one of her legs, and wrapped her tail around one really tight, and began to tp pull.
Mantis grunted as his legs were beginning to give in, as the electric charges were getting stronger by the second, and his own strength waning quickly due to the strain. But he refused to give in, resolved to stand his ground and push back against the elephant's fist. Kuai Xun grinned as he pressed even harder, more electric shocks surging outwards and cracking the ground around them.
"What's the matter? No wisecracks to throw at me this time, huh?!"
"I mean, if you gave me a moment, I'm sure I could come up with something for you."
Before Kuai Xun could properly respond and be angry at that, he suddenly felt something smash against his head. It was Mei Mei, having been forcefully thrown towards the elephant while curled into a ball, launching him a far distance away and sending him flying across the room once more. Mantis panted as he allowed himself a moment to take a breath due to the interruption. Viper slithered up to him with concern in her eyes.
"You alright?"
"Mostly." Mantis shook his head and stood up fully, looking back as the irritated Kuai Xun got back up again. "Tch, we gotta get this guy to hold still so we can land a critical hit." He narrowed his eyes as an idea came to him. "Alright, this oughta work. I'm gonna stop him in his tracks so we can knock him out."
"We're ready when you are." Mei Mei nodded along.
Kuai Xun stood back and glared at Mantis, who was hopping towards him with renewed vigor. "Is that all you got, big guy?! Come on, you're supposed to be big and fast! How do ya move so slow? You can do better than that, can't ya?!"
"You're DEAD!"
Mantis grinned at Kuai Xun taking the bait, before he closed his eyes, sliding into position with his forelegs up. The lightning charged elephant rushed towards him at the fastest speed he's been at yet, almost unable to be seen. Though, Mantis could still get a feel for where he is, thanks to lightly listening and feeling the electric surge around him before he actually reached him.
He swiftly dodged to the side as the large elephant tried to swipe at him with his lightning charged trunk. He then struck his legs several times circular blue lights pulsing through it, swiftly doing the same with his other leg, before passing by the elephant with his forelegs held out.
"Are you sure, buddy? Cause I'm feeling quite alive right now." Mantis smirked as he turned around to see Kuai Xun growl and try and run at him again, only to gasp and fall over himself. "How about you? You feeling good?"
"M-My legs! What did you do?!"
"Pressure points. You won't be using those precious running shoes for a while cause you can't move your legs. Nor can you channel lightning through them." Mantis turned towards him with a grin. "
"Damn it!" Kuai Xun raised his arm and channeled lightning around it. Mantis Alex forth and struck several points on both of his arms, before zipping back into place. The elephant now may on the floor, unable to move at all.
"Nice try, but you're still too slow."
"I-I can't move!"
"Gasp! You can't? Such misfortune!" Mei Mei slowly grinned as she gently fanned herself with a fan. "Oh dear me, whatever will we do with you now?"
"Wait. He can't fight anymore. Is it alright to do anything further?" Viper asked as she appeared over Mei Mei's shoulder. "I mean, he looks desperate. I feel kind of bad..."
"He and his buddies got a kick out of my precious Lei Lei being ruthlessly shocked by lightning." Mei Mei reminded her.
Vipers mouth formed a thin line at the reminder, her pupils briefly forming slits. Mantis could already tell that Fu-Xi's influence was setting in.
"...What will it be?"
"H-Hey. There's no need to do anything rash." Kuai Xun began to sweat. "L-Like the snake said, I'm already unable to move. There's no need to do anymore."
"Ya hear that, Viper? You're just 'the snake' to him." Mantis lightly nudged her.
Viper took a deep breath, as she slithered around Mei Mei's form and coiled around her wrists. "I think I have the perfect idea."
"Ohohoho. I think I'll like that idea." Mei Mei grinned.
"Mantis, you ready?"
"Whenever you are, ma'am!"
Mantis grinned menacingly as he grabbed onto Viper's tail. With her upper half coiled around Mei Mei's wrists, Mantis, with his surprising strength despite his size, lifted the two women and twirled them around, with Mei Mei appearing as the ball to an iron mace, with Viper serving as the flexible handle. Mantis soon jumped, still spinning them around, before he swung downwards on the panicking Kuai Xun with great force. He could hear the panda woman shout:
"MEI MEI MALLET!"
The large panda was smashed onto the elephant, cratering the ground around them and causing various rock chunks to spread outwards. Various cracls spread across the room from the intensity of the impact.
Mantis panted as he released Viper's tail. Viper herself uncoiled from Mei Mei's wrists, sighing as she lies down on the ground, taking a breath.
Mei Mei huffed as she was lying atop of Kuai Xun, with the elephant utterly unconscious and beaten down from the last attack. She sits up a bit, then calmly rolls over, landing on her front. "That's the first time I've been used as a living hammer. But ya know? I think I'm alright with it. It was pretty fun!"
"You're definitely one tough panda lady." Mantis complimented with a sigh. He then smirked as he hopped atop Kuai Xun's unconscious form, pointing at his face. "Told ya I was the fastest around."
Meanwhile, on another part of the room.
"Hup!" Mei Ling swiped her staff across Hundun's face, briefly managing to stagger him back a couple feet, before jumping away to avoid several bolts of lightning crashing down in-between them. "Well, that was the first hit I managed to get in, what, pretty much a while."
"Your puny staff is no longer of any threat to me." Hundun scoffed while wiping his cheek. "The weakness of your staff means it lacks strength behind it, and strength is required to harm me. Which your staff is no longer capable of."
"You really do love your prose. I respect that."
Hundun turned around, only to grunt as Crane flew right into him, feet first, knocking him off of his feet and across the floor, into the wall. He glared at the rhino while flapping his wings.
"However, I can't respect the fact that you're trying to hurt my friends. Nope, that's definitely going on the list of things I'll never be okay with!" Crane cawed as he slies back around and attempts to kick at Hundun. The rhino grunted as with a swift surge of lightning, he smashed his fist into Crane's face, causing him to spiral out of control and crash into the wall, greatly cracking it. "Gack!"
"You are weak and spindly, with skinny legs and thin wings. The weakness of your physique makes it quite clear of your lack of strength, highlighting your weakness."
"Goodness, he really is redundant..." Crane grumbled as he stood back up and adjusted his hat. "And I'm far from weak."
"Seconded!" Mei Ling jumped up and struck Hundun in the sight, making in stagger slightly from the swift yet heavy blow. Snorting, he clasped his hands together and slammed them downwards onto the ground. The result was a powerful surge of lightning that struck everywhere, blasting Mei Ling away and having her ragdoll across the ground. She stopped with the help her her claws, sighing in relief even though a bit of her vest was damaged in the clash.
"I'll be charging you down, just like I'll be charging electricity to power up my charge!"
"Your redundancy knows no bounds, ya know that?!" Mei Ling called out while grunting slightly.
"My lightning charge is unstoppable, thus it won't be stopped by you!" Hundun roared as he charged towards Mei Ling at an alarming speed due to the lightning coating him. Mei Ling's eyes widened as she wasn't fast enough to get out of the way in time. Despite this, she grabbed her staff and prepared herself to counter him. Though before he could attack, Crane swooped in and blocked the charge with a crossing of wings.
The ensuing lightning blast separated the both of them, sending them to separate ends of the large room. Hundun skidded across, grunting as he lifted his head to see Crane panting heavily, his wings hanging slightly limp as they were currently bleeding from the spot that Hundun's horn impacted.
"Heh...my wings...they feel like they're broken..." Crane chuckled in pain. That blast did a bit more damage than he expected.
"And thus, your wings have been clipped." Hundun snorted as he positioned himself for another running charge. "A fitting end to your story, your flight. Grounded, so that your wings may never feel the wind again."
Crane took a breath, as he could feel the electric charges from where he stood. "Hah...I really do admire your prose, even if it's really redundant. But I can still top it."
"By all means, try! But your attempt will end in failure!"
Crane took a breath as he slowly slides his talons across the ground. "The story currently being written...is about the Legend of the new generation of the Furious Five." Despite the pain they were in, he managed to slowly raise his wings. "And I have to keep doing my part to build upon that growing legend, like everyone else. I'll keep supporting them, with my Wings of Legends!"
"Thus, bringing an end to your wings will bring an end to that legend!" Hundun chanted as he charges forth, lightning surging all around him.
"Unfortunately for you, it's not that simple." Crane briefly lowered his head, his hat hiding his eyes. "Because my wings..." He raised his wings a slight bit higher, hearing Hundun charging for him. "...are HURRICANES!"
Crane mightily flapped his wings, and a powerful gale slammed right into Hundun, blowing him away and dissipating his lightning. He ended up slaming right into the wall, which caused a surge of cracks that splintered off so much that they reached the ceiling. Some of the pieces ended up falling, causing a bit of the night sky to be visible. Hundun groaned, barely managing to stand.
Crane panted slightly, before he lightly tilted his hat upwards. "Feel proud. You've become another chapter in the growing Legends of the Furious Five. Specifically, another chapter in, 'The Legend of Crane'."
Hundun clenched step forward. "Your wind...is no match f-"
He was cut off by Mei Ling leaping atop his head, before smashing it into the ground with her staff. Another pained groan, and he didn't get up again, now unconscious.
"That's enough Hundundancy outta you." Mei Ling scoffed, twirling her staff as she leapt off of him, making her way towards Crane. "You really showed him, Crane. He didn't know what hit him."
"Well he certainly hit me pretty hard. My wings are still kinda sore, wracked with pain. But I can endure that." Crane chuckled with another wince.
"'The Legend of Crane', huh? Cool."
Crane sheepishly turned away slightly. "Oh, don't mind that. I was just getting into the moment-" He attempted to play off, but was unceremoniously interrupted by Mei Ling closing in and kissing his cheek. His beak dropped and his eyes widened, before he cawed in a startled heap. "C-C-CAW?! Mei Ling?!"
"Hmhm~"
In yet another part of the room, Tigress and Monkey were leaping about, avoiding several bolts of lightning in the process in order to keep from getting shocked. Qing has completely given into the madness accompanied with his power, and was now letting lose lightning for the sheer destruction it could cause, despite his core intentions.
"ORDER! I WILL HAVE ORDER!"
"I think all that lightning surging around him fried his brain." Monkey speculated as he dodged yet another bolt, which blasted a hole in the wall behind him.
"He's completely lost his mind to the power given to him. This might have been intentional." Tigress also guessed as she jumped back to dodge another bolt of lighting from the crane increasingly erratic blasts of lightning. "He's coated himself in lightning, it's going to be hard to land a attack on him that will connect for sure."
"But if you do manage to connect one?"
"I'll knock him out." Tigress clenched her fists. "We just need a proper opening."
"No idea how to make that happen, but I'm up for ideas, Boss!" Monkey called out as he flipped over another blast of lightning, and managing to dodge a series of lightning shots in his direction. It was then that Monkey found himself with an idea, rubbing his chin. "Hold on a sec. He was literally just given these powers. And might have an idea as to how to use them, but actually being able to use them is something else entirely." He just barely jumped back from another blast barely missing his tail. "Gah!"
"I see. He has all of that power, and knows how to wield it. But actually being able to control it might be beyond him." Tigress narrowed her eyes as she dodged a lightning infused feather. "He doesn't have the experience to wield it properly, even though he's received subtle instructions."
"That's about right!"
Qing cawed aloud as several crackles of lightning shot outwards and destroyed several bits of the room, causing more of them to crash down and apart. A stream barely managed to scorch Tigress around her right hip. Wincing, Tigress landed on all fours, skidding to a stop right in front of Lei Lei and Wu Kong, both whom gasped from surprise. "Tch." She growled before standing up, briefly noticing most of her right pant leg was burned and tattered. Clicking her tongue, she grabbed at it and casually tore the rest of the pant leg off with her claws, exposing her strongly-built furred leg underneath before tossing it aside.
"Oh, wow..." Wu Kong muttered with a blush, and a somewhat shameless smile. Lei Lei simply blinked at him, confused, before Wu Kong gasped as he clutched onto the girl and jumped away from, stray blast of lightning. "Gah!"
"Focus, Wu Kong!" Tigress reprimanded, concentrating as she tried to think of a way to attack Qing. She briefly looked around the area, and noticed several destroyed pieces of the Terra Cotta warriors from before. Her ears flicked with interest. "Monkey, I have an idea!"
"I'm more than willing to support, so long as this dude stops shooting lightning at us!"
"EXECUTION! I'LL EXECUTE YOU ALL!" Qing cawed as the lightning around him grew even more intense and destructive. "THIS IS MY JUDGEMENT! YOUR DEATHS! WILL BRING ORDER!"
"Yeeeaahh...he's completely lost it." Monkey jumped from wall to wall, agile and nimble. "Good thing his aim is still kind of awful!"
Tigress leapt over to a pair of Terra Cotta fists, picking them up. "The Terra Cotta Warriors did have some impressive toughness. Maybe..." Humming with a tilted head, she held onto them as she turned towards Qing, who was throwing another flurry of lightning feathers towards her.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE CHAOS INDUCERS IN MY CITY!"
"This city isn't yours." Tigress muttered, before she began running towards Qing with the fists in paw. Jumping over several blasts of lightning and surprisingly blocking others with the Terra Cotta fists, channeling her chi into them to keep them from shattering. "And you're absolutely unworthy of being it's leader! Especially with this level of destruction you're willing to release to induce your idea of 'order'!" She shouted as she blocked several blasts of lightning with her Terra Cotta fists, closing the distance between then in a a manner of moments.
"INSOLENCE! I WILL NOT STAND FOR ALL OF THIS DEFIANCE!" Qing cawed as more lightning surged around him, intensifying and causing more of the roof to collapse. "I SHALL SUFFER THIS DISRESPECT NO LONGER! I'LL DESTROY EVERYTHING HERE IN ONE-"
He was smacked right in the head, by what appeared to be the head of a destroyed Terra Cotta Warrior. He coughed aloud as he glared towards the one responsible for throwing it.
Monkey.
"You're talking far too big for someone who literally just got these powers, and intend to use them for tyranny."
Tigress growled, taking her chance as she leaped towards Qing, with her arm pulled back with her Terra Cotta Fist, infused with her chi. "Somebody should knock some damn sense into you!"
Her fist found it's mark, slamming into Qing's face before he could avoid her. He found his skull rattled, and he was sent flying across the room, crashing so hard into the wall that it completely collapsed.
Tigress landed on her feet, breathing heavily as her Terra Cotta fist shattered from the force behind her punch. The rest of the Five gathered around her as they waited for the dust to settle. Qing was revealed to be unconscious, blood running down his beak as he quietly groaned from the pain of the blow, lying limp over the edge of the rubble around him. Not a single spark of lightning to be found off of him, Tigress took a breath and sighed.
"He's defeated."
She's. So. COOL! Mei Mei thought giddily with sparkling eyes and paws out together.
"Oh thank goodness it's over on our end. Is everyone alright?" Crane worried as he frantically began checking on everyone.
"More or less." Mantis waved her foreleg, panting quietly. "Proved that I'm the fastest around, so I'm feeling pretty good!"
"Now that this jerk is down, I'm feeling quite alright myself." Monkey smiled while scratching his head.
"Thank goodness it didn't escalate even further." Viper hissed with relief. "I don't know what we'd do it this fight got any further into the outside."
Mei Ling twirled her staff, before placing it behind her back with a smile. "I'm glad everyone's alright. Whew, that was a pretty hard-fought battle, there."
Tigress lightly clenched and unclenched her paw, before turning to everyone with a smile. "Likewise." Her mouth turned back to a thin line as she looked back towards Bing, who was still currently unconscious. They needed to get him out of here as well, if only to see of Fung had anything to say to him.
Mei Mie, now recognizing the danger has currently passed, took the time to run up to Lei Lei and pick her up in her paws, before gleefully hugging her, twirling around a little bit. "Oh my precious, sweet and adorable Lei Lei! You're safe now, safe in my arms! My precious Lei Lei!"
"Mei Mei!" Lei Lei beamed, with the two pandas adorably nuzzling noses and chubby cheeks with one another.
"Ssssssooo cute!" Viper beamed, unable to help herself from cooking around the both of them, making them laugh quite a bit.
Wu Kong sighed, balancing on his tail as he rubbed his chin and closed his eyes. "That was quite a crazy ordeal. Looks like I'm not gonna lose my head or get shocked by lightning until I die. In those regards, things worked pretty well." He lightly lowered his head. That being said, with the danger now having passed...
Wu Kong slowly opened his eyes and peeked with a smirk. After being locked up for a while with troublesome boars, wolves, pigs and the like in a dark and filthy prison, it was nice to come across and take the time to appreciate some rather, pleasant sights to help him feel better.
There was Mei Ling, whose athletic and slim figure was quite signifying of how she was among the more swift and agile members of the group. Which was also a given, due to how well toned her arms and legs were. She might be one of the faster felines given what he's managed to see from her, especially on all fours. How Crane got her attention as much as he did, considering how close they seemed to be, he'd love to know.
Then there was Tigress, who's entire build brimmed with raw physical power. There lies strongly built, muscular arms and legs which she uses to great effect when striking something with controlled, disciplined force. Her arms were currently folded, lightly pushing up her ample chest that was slightly snug due to her vest. He also found himself discreetly gazing at her rear, which was noticeably well-toned, somewhat large, and even cutely heart-shaped. Though as beautiful as she was, she's already demonstrated how terrifying she was, both in combat his raw strength, and her attitude when focused or irritated.
And then, which made him cough a bit, was Mei Mei, who was excitedly speaking with Tigress as Lei Lei was cuddled nicely in her arms. As if she felt she really needed to show how feminine she was, she was wearing bright red and pink clothing, plenty of makeup, eye shadow, floral patterns on aforementioned clothing, and a heart shaped nose. Of course, he found the most noticeable, and probably biggest thing about her aside from her belly and maybe her chest, was her generous, curvaceous rear. That too appeared to be heart shaped, a much bigger heart at that, and looked like it was pillow-soft to the touch. Did he dare? Would he dare? No, he just escaped death, he didn't feel like stupidly walking back into it's arms so easily.
Finally there was Viper. It was surprising, but she was pretty cute, too. The two flowers on her head made her look even cuter, her hissing felt somewhat alluring, as well as the way she happily slithers around Mei Mei's body while hugging her and Lei Lei. Not to mention how smooth her scales looked. He didn't think he'd ever be able to call snakes cute, but Viper has won that effortlessly.
Wu Kong lightly tapped his head, closing his eyes with a sigh. His brother got to hang with so many beautiful women, while he gets chased by fellow criminals everywhere he goes, and was doomed to for in prison until he was executed. Why did it feel like he got the worst end of things? Sure he kind of deserved it, but still!
In all seriousness, they all seemed more reliable over the course of this mission of theirs than he's ever been for Monkey.
"Ogle at your own risk, dude." Mantis lightly tapped the top of his head while standing atop it, before hopping onto Monkey's shoulder. "In other news, don't you have something to say to your bro?"
Wu Kong coughed at that, before turning towards Monkey while rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Monkey. Bro. I just-"
"Save it, I know." Monkey sighed while raising a paw to stop him. "I'm glad and relieved I was able to save you and all, but that still doesn't mean we're cool." He lightly turned around. "Honestly, given how you left me behind when I needed you most, I don't think we'll ever be cool like we used to."
Wu Kong staggered back a bit, his eyes widened as Monkey quietly turned away from him. It was like a slap in the face.
The elder brother sighed, stepping back a bit. "That's fine."
"It is?" Viper questioned worriedly, with Monkey turning back towards him in surprise.
"You've got a point, Monkey. Both of us were hurt that day, but I chose to leave you behind to keep it from getting worse. I completely ignored your feelings on the matter and made the call for both of us. Not only was that seriously uncool of me, it's made me near completely unreliable to you. And I can't blame you for feeling that way."
Monkey turned towards him, and Wu Kong moved closer so he could pull him into a hug.
"I'm alright with you never forgiving me for that. At the very least, I know that you're in the paws of people far more reliable than a jerk who leaves his little brother to fend for himself."
Monkey blinked in surprise, before he turned towards Wu Kong as the older primate pulled away from him. "Hey, look. It's not like I hate you or anything. I'm just gonna need some time to work this out. In any case, let's get outta here. We've gotta regroup everyone."
With a nod, everyone agreed. Mei Ling goes on to pick up the unconscious Bing, as they all hurried to exit the large, wrecked structure that was once a palace. With Wu Kong and Monkey behind the two felines and female panda of the group, the former cheekily whispered: "Speaking of working out..."
"Risky, dude. Risky." Mantis reminded.
Po and Lei Kung were glaring harshly towards each other, the latter having been staggered from the corner's punch. Lightning was crackling around the latter as the former adjusted his hat.
"That's it. I'm going to enjoy hearing your skull into a bloody pulp." Lei Kung promised with an angered sneer. "That'll prove once and for all, that I'm the strongest!"
Po took a deep breath, then sighed calmly. He kept slid his foot forward, and his paw back, his eyes taking on a more neutral aura within them. "All you ever use your power for is to hurt people, purely for the sake of it. That's why you'll never be stronger than me. Your strength? It's empty."
"What did you say?!" Lei Kung roared, but Po remained unfazed by his anger, not bothered at all. The large gorilla punched forth and shot a blast of lightning at the young Panda, only to gawk as Po caught the lightning bolt, and shot it harmlessly into the sky, where it disappears. "W-What?! What did you do?!"
"Whatever you cannot absorb, you deflect." Po recited, his paw lightly tilted as it shook off several bolts of lightning.
"Why you!"
Lei Kung sped towards him in a flash of lightning, punching at him with a lightning coated fist. Po subtly turned to the side to push the fist away, setting the gorilla off balance and causing him to crash along the ground. He snarled and immediately got up and he saw the panda calmly staring at him, a paw still raised.
"What happened to all that anger from before? Why are you so quiet now?!"
"I calmed down a bit. I'm just going to focus on taking you down." Po declared while keeping his paw raised. "Because quite frankly? It's not worth getting mad at someone like you."
Lei Kung snarled as he charged towards Po again and slammed both fists on the ground, causing a seismic wave to rupture the ground, along with a surge of lightning. Po jumped over the ruptured ground, dodging the bolts of lightning, deflecting other bolts with his paw, before kicking the large gorilla in the face. He ended up stumbling, grabbing his face in pain. The panda landed on the ground and swiftly moved forward, slamming a focused blow into the gorilla's chest, and sending him flying across the filed, tumbling along until he slammed into a building, the rubble falling atop him.
Po slid back into place and kept his paw held out, waiting for him to get back up and continue.
Lei Kung roared as he blasted the rubble away, gritting his teeth while glaring furiously at the panda, and noticed that he didn't form his arm of chi anymore, the light having vanished. In reality, Po had discarded it for the time being, seeing the need to conserve his energy in case something else happens that he needs more of his strength for, rather than keep it flowing into an arm made from it. But from the outside? From the perspective of Lei Kung?
He was no longer worth both arms.
The infuriation at the conclusion he came to was overwhelming, as Lei Kung pounded his chest as multiple bolts of lightning discharged everywhere. Po was quick to deflect each and every one that found their way towards him, sending them harmlessly into the sky. He narrowed his eyes before quickly closing the distance between the two of them and kicking him in the center of his body. Lei Kung doubled over, the lightning ceasing to charge.
"Cut that out. You're going to hurt someone outside our fight if you keep doing stuff like that." Po quietly reprimanded.
"Grgh! You bas-"
Po slammed his paw up Lei Kung's jaw, cutting him off and also making him bite his tongue. Before he could reel from the sheer pain of that, Po took a focused step forward, focused his strength into his fist, and again slammed it right into his chest, sending him hurtling across the ground before coming to a stop, sliding on his face.
Grabbing entire chunks of the ground before throwing them away, Lei Kung roared again and vanished in a crash of lightning and thunder.
Po barely flinched, raising his paw as he felt a fist slam right onto it, causing the ground to surge and sway around them. He turned around and struck Lei Kung in the chest, briefly staggering him. The gorilla was relentless this time, continuing the assault as he was now swinging his lightning coated fists in a desperate attempt to just hit the panda in front of him. But it was no use. Most of his blows were either blocked, pushed away, or dodged completely, which left plenty of opportunities for Po to land a swift yet strong counter that staggered him. Every time he landed one, he felt himself grow more unfocused.
Why can't I hit him anymore?! Lei Kung thought frantically, before finally, Po caught his fist, again causing the ground to surge upwards around them. Lei Kung was breathing heavily with a clear aura of exhaustion, while Po barely looked winded.
"Hey. Can I ask you something?" Po suddenly said, confusing the gorilla for a brief moment. "I was told a story, once. From a trio of friends, who adopted another friend of mine long ago. Her entire village was destroyed one day, with everyone in it killed except for her. It was described as having been done by someone with control over elements. Specifically lightning, due to how everything was scorched without any fire." Po's hat briefly overshadowed his eyes, before he raised his head to meet Lei Kung's eyes. "Was that you?"
Lei Kung blinked, not knowing where this was coming from, but decided to answer. "I think I did destroy a village or two to test out my powers. Made for good practice."
Po sighed, rather softly. "I see."
Lei Kung was wondering what was going on with the panda, until he felt a chill down his spine. He found himself unable to move. Not from any paralyzing elements or the like, but it seemed to be entirely emotional. And that emotion was quite recognizable.
Terror.
Why? Why am I suddenly so...
The image of a gorilla completely helpless in the coils of a furious, glowing golden dragon briefly crossed his mind, with it's jaws wide open as if preparing devour him whole. And it felt so real.
"You don't feel any remorse or regret for the people you've hurt or killed?" Po calmly asked, breaking Lei Kung out of his trance.
"W-Why should I?! I told you, I do what I want without regrets! I'm the strongest, therefore the feelings of the weak don't matter to me!"
Fenghuang, Tai Lung, and Shen briefly came up in Po's mind. With this, his eyes narrowed. "Alright."
"What do you mean alri'"
Po heard enough.
Green chi channeled through his paw via the Thundering Wind Hammer, and he slammed it into Lei Kung's chest once more, before sending him hurtling away one more time, with even more force and power behind it than all the others. Lei Kung eventually crashed into a building that eventually collapsed onto him, burying him in rubble.
The building was halfway across the entire city.
Groaning, Lei Kung opened his eyes, and they quickly widened to see three pairs of eyes glowering down upon him.
The Wu Sisters.
"Hello, Lei Kung." Su Wu greeted with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Nice of you to drop by."
"If you don't mind us, we're just a tiny bit fuming right now." Wing Wu smirked, lightly licking her claws in anticipation.
"We've heard quite a damning confession from you thanks to Po. So you were the culprit all those years ago." Wan Wu grinned malevolently, her tail waving side to side.
"W-What are you talking about?" Lei Kung worriedly asked. He couldn't move anymore, the fight took everything out of him.
"That hapless little village you destroyed long ago was our precious daughter's home. And it was to test your powers?"
"Well well, that makes things quite easier for us. Now we can indulge in bathing in your blood without a lick of guilt!"
Su Wu lunged forth and grabbed Lei Kung by the face, her claws digging into it and making it bleed. She smirked sadistically as she saw the rising fear in his eyes. "Congratulations. You've nominated yourself to be our chew toy for the night. It might even feel pleasant, being mauled by a trio of beautiful ladies like ourselves, would it not?"
"W-W-Wait! You can't!" Lei Kung struggled against them, but his strength was completely drained.
"I'm quite sorry, my dear primate. But unfortunately, you don't get to make requests. You see, there's a bit of a steep cost to what you've done all those years ago." Su Wu's sadistic smile turned all the more terrifying, spreading across her face. "You're going to suffer. Not simply die in pain right away, like the last gorilla did. Oh no no. This is a special event, so we're going to take. Our. Time. Right ladies?"
Lei Kung paled considerably as Wing and Wan began giggling creepily, while Su let out an outright villainous laugh of anticipation. All of them closing in on them with eyes of malevolent intent. "S-Stop! Stay away from me! Stay back! Qing! Help me! Qing!"
A gorilla's screaming would have been heard, but it was mostly drowned out by a lot of chaos still going about in the city. And even then, it would be brushed off as the usual.
Po, unaware of his defeated foe's plight, adjusted his hat as he had already left the battlefield for the most part. "Well, that takes care of that jerk. Now I just gotta find the others and-"
"It's you."
Po blinked as he turned around towards the sound of the new voice. He stood still has someone with a similar hat to his stood across from him. At the sight of the person, Po's heart felt something completely different. It was a distant, yet familiar feeling that was proving impossible to shake off. And yet, he didn't want to shake it off by any means whatsoever, but couldn't tell why.
"It's really you."
The person said again, walking up to Po while tilting his hat upwards. Po's eyes widened.
"So many years ago, you were a small and cute little panda cub. And now look at you. You really grew into quite a panda." He gave Po a look over, "Strong...arm." There was a bit of distress in his voice there, but he wouldn't let himself ruin the moment. "Broad shoulders." He briefly felt for them, before moving around him and looking down with a chuckle. "A plump and sizable rear." He then circled in front of Po and patted his belly twice, watching the slight bounce with a hearty laugh. "And such a large and rounded gut! Haha!"
"Um..."
"Look at you. Just...just look at you." The person said breathlessly, as he stepped forward and gently cupped Po's face, with a teary-eyed smile. "I'm so happy. You ended up looking more like your mother than you do me. Especially your face and eyes. Your mother was so beautiful. So looking at you now, and you've grown up to be so incredibly strong and healthy. I feel like I'm looking right at her again."
Wait, is this who Po thinks it is?
At the moment, Tigress and the others finally managed to catch up to the others, only for their eyes to collectively widen, paired with several gasps. Mei Mei, however, was looking absolutely giddy, and Lei Lei raised her arms with a beaming smile.
"Li!"
"Wait. You...?" Po began slowly.
Li slowly took off his hat so his full face and head could be seen. With nothing in the way, he smiled warmly.
"Hello, my Little Lotus."
Everyone gasped again, with Crane's beak dropping with a creak. Mei Mei and Lei Lei were clapping happily with great excitement.
Po blinked owlishly at the declaration. With his single paw, he brought it up to his head with it being closed, then opened it up while slowly lowering as he was mimicking an explosion. Li chuckled.
"Mind blown?"
"Yes...yes it is."
Summary: Tai Lung's having a bad time, Shifu has it rough for a bit, The Five are awesome, Wu Kong's saved at last for sure, while Po and Li FINALLY meet.
But don't worry, EVERYONE will have a really bad time! Demon King Ke-Pa supports equally spread pain and suffering for all mortals, big and small!
Such an upstanding and fair Demon King, isn't he?