Dragon vs. Lion
Platon launched first at the wolf first, clatching his sword with his dagger. Sho, whose hammer was tied onto a leather strap around his wrist, whirled his hammer and knocked Platon back. Tigress jumped over Sho, smashing her fist right into Platon's arm. The lion jumped back. Looking to the left, Platon ran over to the woods, but Tigress cut him off, allowing Sho and Lion to punch him back towards the open plain. Platon braced himself, sliding to a stop. Sho jumped into the sky, poised to strike. Platon shielded himself with his sword for an above attack, but Tigress and Lion kicked Platon back into the mountain's wall while Sho's hammer struck the ground, making the lion wabble to his hands and knees.
Platon slowly stood back up. Tigress, Lion, and Sho panted hard, staying in their ready position as Platon shed his cloak. "I have to say, that all of you have gotten much better. Much stronger," The senior lion gave a small smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud. But you can't expect to win this."
"Why not?" Lion asked.
"Everything you and Sho know, you learned from me and Li," Platon said, throwing off the chest plate Crane tore through. It crashed to the ground with a loud thud, as if it was a suit of lead. His bare muscular chest opened up to the breeze. "But I didn't teach you everything I know."
"Oh no," Tigress muttered. "MOVE!" Tigress pushed Sho and Lion out of the way before Platon's fist struck them. A massive crater, about twenty feet wide, broke through the ground. Sho, Lion, and Tigress looked in awe and horror.
"How did you know he was going to do that?"
"Because that's what Tai-Lung said before he struck us with his nerve attack," Tigress answered Sho.
"He's much stronger than we expected," Lion said. "If that armor was just his limiter-"
"Duck!" Sho shoved Lion out of the way of Platon's fist. The lion moved faster than they could barely see. Tigress ducked and dodged for dear life as Platon's lightning punches came at her. She jumped back, but the lion struck her side and forced her into a tree. Tigress looked up and rolled out of Platon's stomp that took down the tree.
"GRAAAHHH!" Sho and Lion charged from the back and swung their weapons at him. Platon's sword stopped them in their tracks. The lion swung his leg, knocked them down, and punched the ground. Rumble and dirt tumbled over onto them, keeping the three locked in place. Tigress struggled up to her feet; her back towards the mountain with the sea and Platon in front of her. As the lion walked to her, Tigress fell onto her back and crawled away.
"I told you that this was pointless," Platon grunted with his sword lightly scraping the grass and dirt. "You put up a valent effort, but you don't have the strength of your mother when you're not angry." Tigress jumped back to her feet, readying herself. "This doesn't have to happen."
"I could say the same for you," Tigress grunted. "You could've died a hero among the clan and even in China, but you chose to follow a corrupted emperor for power."
"It was for my clan's safety!"
"And would your clan have done this for you?" Tigress's words punched harder than any sword. The lion stared at her as the rain slowed to a stop. "I think they would've died for you before betraying you over to the Emperor."
Platon growled lowly. His eyes glared viciously. "ENOUGH!" He pulled his arm back and smashed his fist straight into her. The impact alone made the mountain wall break rocks from above as a huge hole stood in its place.
But no tiger.
"What the-"
Suddenly, a shadow darted over Platon's body and moved left. The shadow moved to its owner. It wasn't the lightning bugs. It was a person, and the shadow had lagged behind. A figure with a black and white back.
Tigress opened her eyes and saw him. "Po?"
"Hehe, hey, are you okay?"
"How... how did you-"
"Don't know, don't really care. Pretty sure I left my shadow behind there for a moment," Po joked, laying her down on the grass. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Of course, you will," Said a voice from behind them.
"Po behind you!"
Without looking, the panda stopped Platon's hand and sword. He gripped Platon, spun him around, and tossed him back along the other side of the mountain, back towards the tents. Platon crashed into several tents, landing in a heap of poles and torn tarp. Po looked over to Sho and Lion who were just getting out of the pile of dirt.
"Make sure Sho and Lion are okay," Po said as he marched towards Platon.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm putting an end to all of this," Po said heavily. Tigress picked herself up and scurried over to the others while Platon fished out of the debris.
"I'm getting tired of being tossed around," Platon grunted as he dusted off his shoulder. He looked at Po approaching him. "And what do you think you'll do? Defeat me? Lion, Master Tigress, and Sho couldn't defeat me. What hope do you-"
Po rushed up to him and rammed his fist into his gut. The lion coiled over his stomach, heaving. Po kicked him up into the air, grabbed him by his tail, and flopped him to the ground before booty stomping him. As the panda rolled off, Platon growled lowly and wobbly picked himself up.
"You really talk too much, you know," Po smirked.
"Grrr." Platon ran up, tackled Po to the ground, and took his sword for the swing. Po moved his head out of the way and kicked the lion off of him. Jumping to his feet, Po readied himself, just in time to dodge Platon's sword. The sword swung back and forth, trying to cut the panda down, and Po couldn't get a quick target in until he felt the rocks of the mountain under his feet. Swinging his sword high, Platon swiped down just for the panda to dodge left and kick Platon away.
"You know, you're a scaredy-cat for what you did," Po called out. The lion's eyes widened as he struggled to get up. "You turned your back on your own people just for what? Safety? You told me when we first met that your clan rebelled against the Emperor."
"They would've," Platon growled back.
"You don't know that. They could've left peacefully."
"You don't know how stubborn those people are!" Po thought for a moment before looking back at Tigress, still helping Lion and Sho.
"Actually, I think I do. WHOA!" The panda evaded a fist from the lion before getting his side kicked. The panda stumbled back but held his ground, dodging the lion's sword again. "Yipe! Sharp!"
"The Emperor would have made war with us. What was I supposed to do? Let a senseless war kill all of my family?
"Whoa!" Po jumped out of the way, far enough for distance. "Why is he so afraid of the Jai-Yin?"
"We're powerful people. People fear people with power. There was even some false prophecy saying that we would be the mightiest warriors in China's history. Now, we're nothing. I'm NOTHING!" Platon roared as he ran towards Po. He threw a punch, and Po caught it. The blast from his fist sent a large gust tumbling through the camp. Some tents were uprooted and blown away. "What?!"
"I've been training a lot," Po smirked. He grabbed Platon's other hand, rolled him onto his back, and tossed him over to the seaside, several yards from Tigress and the others. Platon immediately grabbed for his sword as the panda charged at him. He swung it at Po. The panda lept back, but Platon swiped his left leg and the panda fell onto his back. Platon drew the sword high and plunged down.
"NO!" Tigress shouted.
What happened next is hard to explain.
As the sword descended towards Po, he kicked Platon off, making the lion knock his sword out of his hand. The sword spun in the air while Po swiped Platon's legs. The sword crashed down, embedding its blade deep in the rocky terrain. Po grabbed it but couldn't get it out. "Come on!" Po grunted as Platon started getting up. The panda pulled with all his strength.
Suddenly, it came out.
Sort of.
"HA! Oops," Po broke the sword's blade in two and only the stunted hilt remained. Platon's eyes widened.
Suddenly, Lion patted his side. "Where's my dagger?" He looked and saw it right next to Platon. Platon saw it and grabbed it. "Po, look out! He has my dagger!"
"Working on it!" Po grunted. Platon sprinted towards the panda.
"This ends, panda!"
Platon swiped down, but the panda kicked the dagger out of his hand. The dagger flew in the air and fell deep into the earth next to the sword. Po grabbed Platon's hand, punched him, and kicked him down the mountain towards the grass.
Po took the dagger and pulled it out.
It broke too.
"Oops."
"WOULD YOU STOP BREAKING OUR HEIRLOOMS LIKE GLASS, PO!" Lion shouted.
"I'm trying!" Po shouted back, tossing both hilts out.
"He's a very clumsy person," Sho noted.
"You don't know the half of it," Tigress and Lion groaned.
"Alright, now you have no weapons. Now we can fight like I want to," Po smirked as he and Platon charged at each other again. As the two fought, Shifu, Crane, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis found their way over to Sho, Lion, and Tigress. Po jumped back and dodged another punch and kick. But he got snagged by Platon's claw. Platon stumbled from the panda's booty bump and rolled down the mountain bit only to barely miss Po's fist pounding the earth, sending a shockwave through the ground.
"You could have convinced them," Po shouted, punching the lion's arm. "You could have relocated."
"And relocated. And relocated. When would it stop?!" Platon roared back, grunting from the panda's kick to his gut. Platon grabbed his foot and went for his leg, but Po spun his body around and kick the lion's shoulder. Platon dropped Po, nursing his shoulder. The two panted hard. Each at the point of exhaustion. Po could feel his bones aching and he must have broken some rib in his chest or something. The pain was excruciating. But Platon's limp became more obvious in their fight, and he still nursed his shoulder.
Platon roared and stomped forward. Po bolt too. The two threw their fists back and punched right into each others' faces. The wind swirled from their blows, gusting the team's clothes. Po and Platon stumbled back away from each other, hunched over like old men. Po couldn't bother to lift his arms up, and the lion's mane and face looked equally bruised. Their pants spilled from their mouths as the air fell silent.
"You're... you're stupid," Platon rasped.
"And you're old," Po smirked. The lion grinned back.
"You're... definitely... the strongest warrior... I've fought."
"You... too. Well, Tigress is still strongest in my eyes."
"Hehe, I don't doubt it," The lion groaned.
"It was... nice... fighting you."
"You as well," Platon said, raising his back a bit. "I think... you've won... this fight."
"Thank you," Po smiled weakly.
Without another word, the two fell back and fainted, lying still on the rocky ground.
The next time Platon opened his eyes, he was upright on the ground and couldn't move. Something in his back immobilized him. The others were surrounding him and had brought him to the camp side of the mountain, resting his back on one of the steep mountain walls. "I... I can't move."
"Mantis immobilized you with a pressure needle," Tigress said. Po had several bandages around his chest and legs and leaned on Tigress. Platon slowly breathed in the air, finally noticing the bandages around him. They were a bit neater than Po's. The lion looked at Lion.
"You're still the best doctor I've trained."
"Murder is rarely the answer," Lion replied deadly yet dead in tone. "But... it doesn't matter in the end. No amount of revenge is going to give me peace. I know that."
"Why did you speak? What was it that you found?" Platon asked.
"Li's daughter, Tigress."
"Ah, yes," Platon sighed. "Her temper and strength made sense when she announced it."
"You're afraid of her?" Monkey asked.
"I'm more afraid of what her mother is going to do to me if she's still alive."
"She is, you know she's not allowed to stay in Youdu (The underworld). The grave itself is afraid of her. Plus, she's only, like... 45 years old," Lion replied.
"Still in her prime," Platon grumbled.
"Which means she's still able to whip you like she did when you tried dating her," Sho smirked. The lion glared at him. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that."
"You and Tigress's mom, dated?!" Po exclaimed.
"We were kids!" Platon exclaimed. Everyone laughed. The old lion laughed too.
As the laughter slowly faded, Platon looked at Lion and sighed, "You were right. I betrayed our clan. Probably for a foolish reason. All the fighting in the world would've been worth it if it meant not having this eternal sense of cowardice. I'm sorry, Lion. I'm sorry for everything I've done. And I'm sorry I betrayed my clan."
The wolf took a long silent breath. Sho did the same while wiping his face. "Let's let the past die for now," He said "If I remember correctly, Po broke our weapons... accidentally."
"I said I was sorry," Po muttered.
"But him breaking them means we have a new age for the Jai-Yin. So let's start fresh, shall we?" Sho said.
Lion rose his eyebrow. "When did you get mature?"
"Po has a strange effect on people," The brown bear smirked.
Suddenly, a loud horn rang and the group spun around. An advancing horde of soldiers funneled into the plains, weaving through the tents, surrounding the group with spears at the ready. The Chinese army.
"Darn it. Forgot about them," Po groaned. Sho smacked Po on the back. "OW!"
"You're not wussing out now, are you, panda?"
"We'll fight with you," Tigress said. Lion nodded with her as the whole team stood ready.
Po nodded and went into his stance for the upcoming battle.
Continued...
