Chapter 17: Death of a Dragon Warrior

Po grabbed a large pole that he was sure would hold his weight before using it to launch himself into the air towards the factory and into two wolf sentries, knocking them out. He then picked them up and snuck along the walkway while using their bodies as cover.

As he snuck around, he noticed the Boss Wolf passing by, looking rather disgruntled.

"Did you hear him call it the year of the 'peacock'..." The Boss Wolf muttered to himself.

"Hey." Po greeted, waving one of the sentries arms.

"Hey." The Boss Wolf replied, not noticing the panda as he slipped away.

Po shuffled towards the upper, still carrying the wolf sentires in front of him as their jaws hung open, making it look like they were smiling.

"Kraang has been on the diet known as gluten-free." A Kraang-droid said to another Kraang-droid as Po passed them. "Kraang has already lost thirteen Kraang units of weight."

"Hey!" A gorilla soldier yelled, getting Po's attention as he held the wolves out in front of him. "On your feet! And wipe those stupid grins off your faces!"

As the gorilla soldier moved to grab the two wolf soldiers, Po quickly dropped them and scrambled for a nearby window, just managing to get inside without anyone seeing him.

Po landed on a rickety wooden walkway, finding himself overlooking a huge factory with several more walkways, wolves and Kraang-droids forging molten metal into new weapons while a large conveyor belt transferred the unused melt to the smelting pits.

And above it all, Po spotted Shen's silhouette through the smoke, barking orders at the soldiers below.

Narrowing his eyes, Po climbed up the ladder to the tall walkway, rolling along the bridge as the rising smoke made it hard to see.

He looked around for any signs of the peacock when he heard a sinister chuckle.

"Greetings, panda!"

Po whipped around as the smoke cleared, seeing Shen standing on the walkway with him as the peacock splayed his tail feathers out. Po spotted the eye emblems on each feather before he quickly covered his eyes, just barely resisting another flashback.

"Tell me what happened that night!" Po demanded.

"What night?" Shen asked with mock innocence.

"That night!" Po stated.

"Ahhh…" Shen said, looking almost nostalgic. As he would relive the whole memory if he could. "That night."

"Yes!" Po exclaimed before he faltered slightly. "We're talking about the same night, right?"

"Yes, I was there. Yes," Shen nodded, "I watched as your parents abandoned you, it's a terrible thing. I believe it went something like this!"

Shen then cut a chain holding a suspended bucket of molten metal, causing it to swing right into Po. The panda yelped as the walkway collapsed beneath him, leaving him hanging precariously over the factory below.

"Now!" Donatello yelled.

At that command, Leonardo, Tigress, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, April, and Casey pushed a large cart full of gunpowder kegs towards the factory while Viper, Monkey, and Mantis rode on the cart.

Viper quickly grabbed one of the hanging lanterns before handing it to Monkey, who smashed it over the kegs as they burst through the entrance to the factory.

With a mighty heave, Leo, Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, April, and Casey shoved the cart into the middle of the room where it toppled over and spilled the flaming kegs along with several explosive hockey pucks.

"Here's your new year's gift!" Monkey called with a grin as the wolves cautiously backed away from the kegs.

"Hope you like it," Mantis added with a smirk, "'cause you can't return it!"

The group turned to leave when they heard a loud yell come from overhead. Tigress looked up, and her amber eyes widened.

"Po?!" She exclaimed as the others looked up, spotting the panda as well. "What's he doing here?"

The group glanced down at the lit kegs of gunpowder as they quickly realized that if those explosives went off, it would take down the whole factory… and Po with it!

"Return it! Return it!" Monkey cried.

In a panic, Leo, Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey rushed forward, desperately trying douse the fire as quickly as they could before they soon found themselves being swarmed by wolves and Kraang-droids, forcing them to fight them off all while putting out the kegs and disposing of the explosive pucks.

Up above, Po clung as tightly as he could to the hanging bucket, knowing one slip would mean his doom before using his momentum to swing over to the nearest walkway.

"Are you willing to die to find the truth?" Shen asked, sounding rather amused as he casually walked along the walkway.

"You bet I am!" Po retorted, climbing up. "Although I'd… prefer not to."

He then leapt at Shen, aiming a flying kick at the peacock's head. A kick which Shen caught, shoving the panda's foot to the ground before using his tail feathers to sweep Po's feet out from under him.

Po cried out as he fell down onto the conveyor belt below, Shen gliding down with his tail feathers to the lower walkway to watch. Po knew he had to think of something fast or else he would find himself bathing in molten metal.

Meanwhile, the Turtles, the Five, April, and Casey quickly made their way to the upper levels after putting the kegs out and disposing of Casey's explosive pucks, only to find themselves set upon by even more wolves and Kraang-droids.

"Tigress! Go! We've got these guys!" Leo shouted over to the feline.

Tigress nodded as the blue clad turtle leapt in front of her, giving her a boost up to the higher levels before he turned to fight off the wolves and Kraang-droids with the others.

The feline twisted her body in a corkscrew flip mid-air, split-kicking two wolves away before landing and being confronted by a gorilla soldier and a Kraang bio-droid.

Both the gorilla and the bio-droid roared at Tigress, beating on their chests in a manner that would scare away any other opponent.

But not Tigress as she snarled right back before she lunged at her two opponents.

Back up above, Po quickly realized that the conveyor belt was moving a lot faster than he could run, now getting dangerously close to the end of the belt overlooking the vat of molten metal all while Shen continued to watch.

Just as he was about to go over the edge, Po managed to grab a tuning fork, letting out a scream as he jammed the fork into the belt, grabbing a random wok to shield himself from the searing heat of the molten metal before he was taken under the belt.

Shen watched with great satisfaction, believing he had seen the panda fall as he saw no sign of him.

"Looking for me?"

Shen whirled around behind him at the sound of the panda's voice… only for Po to be nowhere to be seen. There was a long silence before Po eventually emerged, riding on the large gear moving the belt.

"Er… I said that too soon, didn't I?" Po said bashfully. He then leapt at Shen, with the peacock launching several knives at him, forcing Po to use the wok he was still holding as a shield.

The two went back and forth, Shen swinging his knives and swiping with his tail feathers while Po blocked his attacks with the wok before retaliating with a punch or a kick.

Shen evaded a kick from Po before leaping onto the panda's head and jumping to a higher walkway.

Po was about to follow when he was suddenly tackled from behind by several wolves piling onto him. He tried to push them off, only for several Kraang-droids to come up and jab him with taser prods, making him scream as the pink electricity crackled over him.

Tigress' head snapped over to the panda upon hearing him shriek. "Po!" She exclaimed in a panic, her momentary distraction allowing the bio-droid she was fighting to slug her across the face.

The feline fell to the ground, raising her head to see the gorilla she was also fighting about to bring his arms down to smash her.

Acting quickly, Tigress rolled out of the way, kicking the gorilla away before grabbing the arm of the bio-droid and throwing it at the pile up.

The bio-droid hit the wolves and Kraang-droids holding Po down, knocking them off him and freeing him. With them gone, Po quickly scrambled up the scaffolding towards Shen.

"Po! Get away from him!" Tigress yelled to the panda as the gorilla grabbed her from behind. She struggled against his grip until Raph quickly drop-kicked the gorilla in the head, Mikey wrapping his kusarigama chain around Tigress' arm and pulling her back up before she could fall.

Tigress' pleading went on deaf ears as Po finally climbed to the top of the walkway, tossing the tuning fork into the air before batting it towards Shen with the wok, pinning the peacock by the neck to a large wooden box.

"No more running, Shen!" Po snapped, having run out of patience.

"So it seems." Shen calmly admitted, removing the tuning fork and lightly rubbing his throat.

"Now… answers!" Po demanded.

Shen let out a quiet chuckle. "Oh, you want to know so badly?" He asked. "Thinking knowing will heal you, huh? Fill some… crater in your soul? Well here's your answer… your parents didn't love you."

The peacock smirked as Po's anger slowly faded to sadness and disappointment at his words.

"But here…" Shen said, leaping atop the box, "let me heal you."

Shen opened the box, revealing a large dragon cannon at least three times the size of the original.

Po gasped as he realized the cannon was aimed straight for him, he knew he had to move out of the way, but his legs wouldn't budge.

From across the walkway, while the Turtles, the Five, April, and Casey were still fighting off hordes of wolves and Kraang, Tigress looked up and her eyes widened upon seeing the cannon aimed at Po.

Without a second thought, she dashed past her opponents, sprinting on all fours as she desperately made her way towards the panda. She had to get to him. She had to.

Shen used his talons to light the fuse, the dragon-shaped cannon even seeming to growl before it fired.

Po only had enough time to hold the wok out in front of his chest as the flaming cannonball hit him.

"NOOOO!" Tigress screamed before she was knocked off her feet as Po was blasted right by her, the others looking up just in time to see Po crash through the wall of the factory, flying over the city before landing in the river below.

Shifu was jolted from his meditation as thunder and lightning crackled through the darkened skies. He collapsed from his place in the Dragon Grotto, stricken by what he had just felt.

Slowly, Shifu retrieved Oogway's crescent moon-ended staff and used it to lift himself onto his feet.

He gazed out at the thunderstorm in the sky, feeling that something terrible had just happened.

Tigress rushed over to the now gaping hole in the side of the factory, staring out with wide eyes that were now filling with tears.

Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey stared with equal horror at the hole in the wall. Even the wolf soldiers and Kraang-droids seemed taken aback by what just happened as they briefly halted their attack.

"Po!" Most of the group yelled as they rushed up to the gaping hole with Tigress.

"This… this can't be happening, it can't!" Crane cried.

"Po…" Viper whimpered, her eyes quivering.

April let out a sob as she buried her face in Donnie's shoulder while Casey, Monkey and Mantis closed their eyes and looked away in silent sorrow.

"He's… gone?" Leo breathed.

"No. No, he can't be!" Raph exclaimed in denial.

"Please, please say that didn't just happen." Mikey whimpered.

"I wish I could, Mikey, I wish I could." Donnie whispered as he held April close.

Tigress continued to stare with wide eyes. It couldn't be true. One of her closest friends couldn't really be gone. The one who had helped her open up and begin to start feeling again…

The group was drawn out of their grief-stricken thoughts by a sinister laughter as they turned to see Shen lightly jump down from his cannon.

"Shen…" Leo growled, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles nearly bled while his and his brothers' eyes narrowed into white slits as the others glared hatefully at the peacock.

"YOU MONSTER!" Tigress shrieked at him with angry tear-filled eyes.

Before anyone could stop her, Tigress dashed for Shen, batting away any wolves and Kraang-droids that got in her way. She then leapt into the air and lunged at the peacock, who quickly dodged out of the way as Tigress viciously lashed out at Shen with her claws.

As she engaged him, the Turtles, the rest of the Five, April, and Casey were left to deal with the other Kraang, wolves, and gorillas, however, they soon remembered that they were vastly outnumbered.

"Guys!" Leo called, blocking a sword from a wolf soldier before kicking him away. "There's too many of them! Get outta here!"

Raph aimed a double spinning kick at a gorilla soldier before landing. "Retreat?! Seriously?!"

"Tactical retreat!" Crane said, swooping past the red clad turtle.

Raph grumbled under his breath as he and the others made a break for the exit, only to be cut off by several wolves and Kraang surrounding them.

"Easier said than done, dudes!" Mikey cried as they found themselves surrounded.

From the crowd emerged none other than Ch'rell, punching his robotic fist into his palm with a smirk. "Your little raid was amusing." He mocked the group. "But I believe that playtime is over."

No one, not even Mikey had any quips or remarks to make as they glared at the Kraang general before they were set upon by the crowd.

Donnie blocked the chainsaw part of a Kraang blaster before batting the droid away with his staff. He quickly moved out of the way as Ch'rell attempted to punch him before attempting to retaliate with his staff, only for Ch'rell to grab the stick and fling him across the room, sending the smart turtle crashing into the wall.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey yelled, kicking a wolf away before lunging at Ch'rell, leaping into the air, ready to bring his nunchucks down, only for the Kraang general to catch the chukon bu of both nunchucks in each hand. Ch'rell then pulled Mikey off of his back before kicking him into a small corner of the room.

Mantis zipped through several wolves and Kraang before going straight for Ch'rell, kicking the head of Ch'rell's suit and was about to go back for another attack when Ch'rell smacked him out of the air with his hand, knocking him into Mikey.

Viper wrapped her tail around one Kraang-droid and threw it into another wolf. She then narrowly ducked her head under another wolf's blade before lashing out with her tail, knocking the soldier into two more Kraang. However, she was caught off guard when Ch'rell suddenly grabbed by the throat, squeezing so hard that her eyes bulged a little before she was slugged across the snout and thrown over to where Mikey and Mantis were.

Monkey flipped over a Kraang-droid, grabbing it by the shoulders and smashing it into a gorilla before wrapping his tails around a bio-droid's arms and yanking the Kraang piloting it out. He was about to leap towards another wolf when he was suddenly grabbed by the tail by Ch'rell, hitting the snub-nosed simian in the gut before tossing him into Mikey, Mantis, and Viper.

Casey smacked a Kraang-droid with his hockey stick before jabbing his taser glove at a gorilla soldier. However, seeing Ch'rell taking out more and more of his friends, the husky vigilante made a charge for the Kraang general. "Goongala!" Casey shouted, raising his hockey stick along with a baseball bat as he leapt into the air, only for Ch'rell to catch him and slam him into the ground before throwing him into Mikey, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis.

April slashed a wolf soldier with her tanto, threw her tessen at a Kraang-droid, and used her powers to blast away two gorillas and a bio-droid. She then turned to Ch'rell and attempted to launch a psychic blast at the Kraang general, only for it to have no effect. Before she could even react, the head of Ch'rell's robot body blasted a pair of lasers from it's eyes. The two lasers hit April, causing the young human-turned-lioness to cry out in pain before she dropped to the ground unconscious.

Crane swooped down, using his wings to fan away both Kraang and wolves alike before grabbing a gorilla and heaving into several more wolves. He attempted to fly again, but Ch'rell moved faster as he grabbed the bird's spindly legs and threw him into the pile with the others.

Raph hacked and slashed at the wolves and Kraang-droids furiously, blocking a sword from a wolf before punching him away. He then spun around to stab another Kraang when Ch'rell came in and kicked the red clad turtle away, grabbing Raph by his shell and tossing him into Donnie on the other side of the room.

"Raph!" Leo exclaimed, seeing his hotheaded brother fall after he blocked and kicked another wolf soldier away. Before he could even do anything, Ch'rell kicked him hard in the plastron, sending Leo sprawling on the ground. Leo quickly recovered and rolled away as Ch'rell leapt into the air and attempted to smash the lead turtle. Leo rolled back to his feet, defensively slashing at Ch'rell while dodging his powerful punches. However, his attention was so drawn to the Kraang general that it left him vulnerable as a gorilla soldier socked him in the back of the head. Stumbling forward, Leo's vision was met by Ch'rell's mechanical fist as the Kraang General's uppercut sent him spiraling into Mikey, Viper, Monkey, Mantis, and Crane, his katanas slipping from his grip.

Up above, Tigress slashed with her claws savagely at Shen, with the peacock dodging her every strike before the feline managed to land a kick on Shen that sent him staggering back. Shen grimaced, holding his chest slightly before Tigress grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

Tigress snarled, her fiery amber eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she gripped the peacock's neck so tightly she threatened to pop his head off.

"Are you… going to… kill me?" Shen asked, smirking even as he struggled to speak.

Tigress growled. "You killed my friend!" She shouted in rage, raising her free paw and unsheathing her claws. "And now I'm going to return the favor!"

Shen's smirk never faded. "Well… I'm afraid… you're going to have to wait for that, my dear."

Tigress raised her paw to put an end to the peacock, only for her to be suddenly grabbed by Ch'rell and yanked away, freeing Shen.

The feline struggled ferociously against Ch'rell's grip as the Kraang general pinned her arms to her sides. "Let me go!" Tigress yelled as she squirmed and kicked in his arms.

Ch'rell laughed as he glided down to the ground, knowing better than to let a raging tiger free. "I'm afraid it's no use." He taunted the feline. "You made your brave little stand, but now look at you; beaten, broken, and just waiting to be put out of your misery like that foolish panda."

Tigress suddenly stopped struggling, what was the point? Because Ch'rell was right; they lost. There was nothing they could do now except wait for the end to come, the same end that poor Po suffered.

Thinking of the panda again, Tigress felt something foreign swell up in her throat, something she had suppressed within herself since Shifu taught her to control her strength. Something she did only rarely whenever she felt upset.

She roared.

The sound echoed throughout the factory, with it being so loud that Leo, Mikey, Viper, Monkey, Crane, Mantis and even some of the wolves were forced to cover their ears to avoid going deaf.

Tigress roared and roared a deep heart-broken roar, her grief becoming known to all those present before she finally stopped, slumping down and hanging her head in silence.

Meanwhile, Donnie and Raph stirred at the feline's loud bellow, opening their eyes to see their friends surrounded by wolves and Kraang-droids.

Donnie glanced up above and noticed an open window that led out into the open night. He then glanced back at Raph, who looked like he was about to charge in again.

"Raph, no!" Donnie exclaimed, grabbing his older brother's arm. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Raph growled as he tried to pull his arm free. "Let go of me, Donnie! We've gotta help them! No turtle or pal left behind, that's our rule!"

"We can't help them if we die or get captured too!" Donnie retorted, already making a break for the window. "Move your shell!"

Raph glanced at his smart younger brother before turning his attention back to the wolves and Kraang now moving to apprehend him.

Raph clenched his fists and cursed under his breath. Even he knew that this was a battle that he couldn't win alone.

So reluctantly, Raph put his sais into his belt and leapt through the window.

"Don't just stand there, you fools!" Ch'rell exclaimed to the wolves and Kraang-droids, pointing to the window. "Don't let them escape!"

Raph and Donnie leapt across the rooftops of Gongmen City as fast as they could, trying to get as far away as they could from the factory.

It wasn't long before there were the sounds of snarling as well as pink blaster fire whizzing past them.

Donnie and Raph briefly glanced behind them, seeing dozens of wolves running on all fours after them while the Kraang provided long-range support.

In an attempt to lose them, the purple clad turtle and the red clad turtle leapt another few rooftops before leaping over the outer wall to the city and into the forest.

Acting fast, Donnie drew a smoke bomb from his belt and threw it down, allowing him and Raph to escape in a cloud of purple smoke and leaving the wolves and Kraang empty-handed.