Chapter 7: The Wrath of Kai
"Wings of surveillance!" Crane exclaimed as he flew high above the dried up riverbed.
"Why do you do that?" Mantis questioned, sitting on top of the bird's hat.
"Do what?" Crane asked.
"Just because you say 'Wings of…' before something, it doesn't mean that you're doing a special move." Mantis said. "It's like me saying 'Antenna of Power or… 'Thorax of… Making Sandwiches'."
Crane frowned. "Wings of Disagreement." He muttered.
"Yeah, man! Don't dis on calling out cool names before attacking!" Casey panted, the husky vigilante running on all fours on the ground beneath them. "It's awesome!"
Crane smiled and nodded with Casey while Mantis rolled his eyes.
Just then Mantis spotted something slightly ahead of them. "Whoa, there. I see something." He said.
Ahead of them were three figures, two of them were on horseback and the third one running on all fours. The two on the horse were a rabbit and a small pug child, and the third one was a female Asian golden cat.
"Mei Ling?" Crane said in surprise as he, Mantis, and Casey raced up alongside them.
"Crane?" Mei Ling said in equal surprise as both parties quickly skidded to a stop.
"Hey, Usagi, man! How are ya doing? What are you guys doing out here?" Casey said as the rabbit samurai lightly pulled on the reins to stop his horse.
"I am doing well, Casey-san." Usagi answered. "We each came here after getting a message from Master Shifu. Upon meeting with each other, we believed it was best that we travel together for now."
"You mean…?" Crane asked.
"Yeah, we know about Kai and we're searching for him right now." Kintaro confirmed, sitting behind Usagi on the horse. "Of course, we haven't found anything yet."
"That's funny," Mantis said, "we're actually looking for Kai too. So why don't we team up? We can find Kai together and then warn our friends back at the Jade Palace."
Mei Ling hummed, putting a paw under her chin. "That does sound like a good idea." She said. "Let's do it."
"Quickly, we must keep moving if we are to find this Kai." Usagi advised.
Together, the group set out as they made their way through the dry desert, the descending sun tinting the sky in a golden aura that was reflected by the sand.
Just ahead of them, they spotted a large abandoned ship with a broken hull resting in the distance, and approaching it were four figures creating a large trail of dust behind them as they ran.
Deciding to investigate, the group discovered that the four figures were a bear, a croc, an ox, and a large chicken.
"Master Bear, Master Chicken, Master Storming Ox, Master Croc!" Crane exclaimed as the group quickly caught up with them. "What are you doing out here?"
"Ba-cock! Jade creatures attacked our village." Chicken answered.
"Yes, and we tracked them here." Ox said, pointing to the boat ahead.
"Stop!" Bear shouted, causing all of them to skid to a screeching halt in front of the ship. "They must be in there."
The ship itself was large and old, the wood clearly rotting and looking like it was ready to fall apart at any second.
"Master Shifu strongly advised us–" Crane began.
Bear suddenly roared and ran into the ship, waving his axes around wildly as he went through the opening in the hull, vanishing out of sight.
Both Storming Ox and Croc brandished their weapons before jumping into the fray as well.
"... not to engage." Crane finished with a frown while Usagi pinched the bridge between his nose.
"This'll lead to trouble." Mei Ling sighed.
"We've gotta get in there." Kintaro said determinedly.
"But Master Shifu said–" Crane protested.
"Are you seriously afraid?" Mantis questioned incredulously. "Even Master Chicken's going in there!"
"Yeah, and he's a chicken!" Casey added.
The group watched as Master Chicken charged in too, disappearing into the darkness of the hull.
Seconds later, there was the sound of clashing steel before four bursts of green light appeared from the ship, along with the sound of Master Chicken's battle cry.
Mantis gasped while the others stared with wide eyes. "That's it! I'm going in!" He exclaimed, leaping off of Crane's hat and down into the sand.
"Me too!" Kintaro added, holding his Axe of Power up high.
"Don't count Casey Jones outta this!" Casey stated, already pulling out his hockey stick and his baseball bat.
"But guys, we have orders to–" Crane started.
"They need our help. Come on. I'll hit high, the rest of you go low." Mantis said as he, Casey, and Kintaro charged in.
"No, wait!" Crane whispered.
"Guys, get back here!" Mei Ling hissed.
But they did not listen as Mantis jumped onto the boat. "Fear the bug!" He exclaimed, slipping through the broken planks of the deck while Casey and Kintaro snuck in through the hull. "Alright you little…! Uh oh."
A burst of green light emerged from the ship, followed by the sounds of clashing steel and wood.
Instantly, Crane, Mei Ling, and Usagi rushed towards the ship, Crane quickly pulling ahead of them thanks to his wings.
"Hold on, guys! We're coming!" Crane exclaimed.
"Antenna of Power!" Mantis yelled before there was another green glow from the ship. "AHH! It didn't work!"
"GoongalaaAAAAH!" Casey cried as there were two more bursts of green light from inside the ship.
"MANTIS! CASEY! KINTARO!" Crane yelled, flying directly into the hull, and taking a stance. Only he found that the hull was completely dark and empty.
"Mantis? Casey?" Crane called out as he cautiously looked around, gently tip-toeing through the area. "Kintaro?"
Suddenly, Crane felt a dark presence behind him, causing him to slowly turn his head around, letting out a gasp at what he saw.
Standing in the shadows behind him was a tall yak that towered over him, his glowing jade green eyes standing out in the darkness and seeming to pierce his very soul.
There was no doubt in his mind about who this was.
Kai.
Crane stared up at the large yak. Kai stared back.
Slowly, Crane lowered his hat over his eyes, whistling innocently as he turned away, trying to look inconspicuous…
… only for Kai to immediately pin him down.
Acting fast, Crane quickly kicked Kai off of him, using his wings to lift himself back up.
Kai twisted himself midair so that he landed perfectly on his hooves.
He grinned in amusement as Crane took a combative stance. "Your chi is strong." He mused. "Just like your friends, the bug and those two dogs."
Kai then reached down, brushing three new jade pendants that rested on his belt.
Crane gasped in horror before he glared at Kai. He then rushed forward to attack the yak, only for Kai to knock him away with the flick of his finger, sending Crane crashing into the side of the hull.
Panting heavily, Crane shakily got up, stunned by what had just happened. Kai had knocked the wind out of him with a flick of his finger. His finger!
"Don't worry, little birdie. I'll put your chi to good use," Kai smirked as he brought out his blades, "destroying the Jade Palace and everyone in it."
Just then, Usagi and Mei Ling burst through the hull of the ship as they lunged at Kai, weapons drawn.
"Crane! You've got to get out of here and warn Master Shifu!" Mei Ling yelled as she swung her staff at Kai, who blocked it with his jade sword.
"What? No! I am not leaving you!" Crane said stubbornly.
Usagi ducked under a slash from Kai before he swung his katana at the yak. Kai quickly stomped on the blade, pinning it down before batting Usagi away. He then wrapped his chains around the rabbit ronin and whipped him around like a wrecking ball.
"Just go!" Mei Ling told him before Kai slammed Usagi into her, knocking her against the side of the hull.
Before she or Usagi could recover, Kai held out his hands as they glowed a jade green, pulling both of them towards him.
Usagi and Mei Ling could only shout in horror as they were shrunken down and turned into jade pendants as well.
"MEI LING! USAGI!" Crane exclaimed in horror.
Kai laughed as he turned to Crane. "And then there was one."
Crane glared hard at the yak as he cursed under his breath. As much he hated to admit it, he was seriously outmatched. The only option now was retreat.
Quickly, Crane grabbed a nearby barrel and flung it at Kai. The barrel shattered to splinters upon hitting him, but Kai barely flinched.
Acting fast, Crane burst through the deck of the ship, soaring into the air in an attempt to get away.
Still smirking, Kai extended his chains with his blades, twirling them as fast as he could before he threw it into the air.
"Wings of…" Crane was about to yell before Kai's chain wrapped around him, pinning his wings to his sides, "... regret!" He cried as he was dragged back down.
The last thing Crane heard was Kai's sinister laughter as the yak's hands glowed that same jade green before everything went dark.
