A/N IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Hey guys, just letting you know, next week and maybe a little bit after there won't be a new chapter. This is because my laptop that I use to write has broken, and I cannot afford a new one right at this moment. I haven't given up on the story, I'm just unable to write currently because typing all the chapters on my phone isn't going to happen I'm afraid, just writing this bit on my phone is annoying xD But the minute I get a new laptop, the next chapter will be published, I promise. My apologies for the delay but unfortunately technology breaks, as I found out the hard way :P. I still welcome any feedback about the story so far! If you haven't already, make sure you Follow the story so you'll get a notification whenever a new chapter is published. The delay will be 3-4 weeks at the most. Thank you all for understanding!
ArchAngel319: I still appreciate reviews! They make my day, especially feedback and constructive criticism. This takes place after KFP3, but I'm messing with timelines a little bit here and there, but not anything that will mess with canon too much... I hope. I'm glad you think I'm staying in character with the canon characters, I do try my best with making sure they are believable. Apologies if Song or Su are OOC at all, but I haven't watched that episode of Legends of Awesomeness yet, so all I have to go on is their wiki articles.
Starless echoes: I'm glad you enjoyed the fight scene! I tried to keep it easy to follow and engaging. Tbh, I don't see the Sword of Heroes unable to be used by someone not a hero, but maybe they can't use its full power? It is an interesting question though xD
Alyx Courtman: As I said above, I still appreciate reviews! I'm glad you love the story!
After the battle with Su, the Furious Five, Po and Hunter got to work on cleaning up the bodies and unconscious bandits, tying up the ones unconscious and stacking the dead bodies for burning. Or, Hunter was. He'd silently walked over to the deceased and began piling them up, seemingly with the mindset that since he was the one who killed them, he would handle the disposal of their bodies, insisting he 'had the means' to do so. Hunter then set up some kind of pyre with the bodies and set it alight, burning the bodies from the looks of it while making light it downwind of the camp itself so the scent of charred flesh would not spread over the camp. Although they would likely still be able to smell it, it would not be as bad as if he had lit it closer or upwind.
Everyone was confused when Hunter took a vial of some kind that held some sort of solution out of one of his many hidden pockets and poured it over all of the burning bodies on the pyre. Tigress eventually got a whiff of the solution in question due to her superior senses, and it smelled like... Ammonia? It had a bitter and biting odour to it which was rather unpleasant. Her senses told her not to directly inhale the fumes of whatever that stuff was... She also made sure to tell the Ladies and the rest of the Five and Po the same thing, seeing the bodies burning away even quicker now. The Ladies, the Five and Po all took care of the bandits, with Su being given extra special care with them making sure she was securely tied up and ready to be locked up. Song had said that the Ladies would hand her back to the guards soon so they could put her in prison. Song had invited the group to stay at her camp for the night in return for their help against Su and the bandits. However, the Five, Po and Hunter decided to quickly return the Sword to The Jade Palace so Shifu would not think something was amiss.
Song approached Hunter, Po and the Five before they made their journey back. "Thank you, all of you for being here. Especially you Hunter. If you hadn't stolen that Sword and come looking for it, she may have overwhelmed us all with her bandits." she bowed to the group respectfully, all of whom bowed back to her in return as she rose and smiled widely. "Come back soon! We'll throw a feast for you! And we promise to buy the food, not steal it!" Song joked a little as the group of warriors left the camp to return the Sword of Heroes.
As they walked back through the Bamboo Forest and towards the Jade Palace, Tigress eyed up the Sword wearily. "I should take it back to Master Shifu." she said to Hunter, who shook his head to her.
His response was clear and to the point. "No can do, I said I'd return it and return it I shall." Hunter told her before turning his head to the group. "If anyone other than Master Shifu so much as touches this blade, I'll cut your paws, talons, claws or whatever else off." Hunter warned simply. The others all backed off a little at the threat apart from Tigress, who growled once more.
She wasn't scared so easily. "How do we know you won't just take off with it?" she asked Hunter wearily, still not trusting him to not just bolt with the Sword in hand and sell it to the highest bidder and move away from China where he couldn't be found.
Hunter for his part scoffed dismissively at Tigress' accusation towards him. "Because I'd already be gone, Little Kitten." he spoke, adding the Little part in emphasis now.
Tigress stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath, practising what Shifu had taught her about controlling her emotions, particularly her rage... She quickly caught up and stayed behind Hunter. "Be ready." she whispered to the Five and Po just in case he did decide to run off, who all nodded to her, but truthfully were unsure about if they could stop him or not...
However, after the Five and Po all turned around, Hunter had vanished from sight. Tigress' eyes widened and her head darted around looking for him. Seeing a bush nearby where he could have gone, she quickly leapt behind it and saw Hunter standing in front of a tree and... Oh... Ohhhhh... Right. He was... Answering nature's call... Hunter turned his head and saw Tigress standing there and her face lit up in a blush seeing that he noticed her watching him... He cocked his brow and not even her orange fur could hide the redness on her face. "Want to join me, or just watching for your own pleasure?" he asked as she practically vanished and reappeared on the other side of the bush with the speed she used to get out of the situation...
The rest of the Five and Po all looked at her expectantly, wondering what she found. "He's uhh... 'In the bushes'..." she mumbled out and walked past the others quickly and without another word, trying to hide her tomato coloured face from her friends, knowing she'd never hear the end of it if they realised. Monkey and Po actually then ran behind there as well, apparently agreeing with his decision for a little break in the bushes.
Joining him, they all made sure to face away from each other to give one another some privacy. "Alright lads?" Hunter asked, receiving noises in confirmation as he decided to pass the time with some light conversation. "Helluva fight. I needed a piss partway through but had to hold it in. I'd forgotten about it when I grabbed Tigress, until just now when my bladder decided to let me know." he chuckled a little before finishing up and going back through the bush to join Tigress, Viper, Mantis and Crane. Tigress avoided looking at Hunter and was still bright red, which made him grin behind his mask once he noticed it. It was a good job he was wearing it or Tigress might have done something unspeakable seeing him grinning at her current condition. Eventually the other two finished up as well and rejoined the others along with The Hunter.
The group picked up their pace then and began their journey back towards the Palace, although once more it took quite a while with Po lagging behind once or twice every few miles. They all eventually reached The Jade Palace once more and made their way up the steps to the Hall of Heroes. Shifu knew they were returning and was waiting for them inside. When the door was opened by the servants and the group all stepped inside the Hall, Hunter approached Shifu and unsheathed the Sword, bowing and presenting the blade to the old Master to take.
"Thank you, Hunter. Well done, all of you." He nodded to the Five, Po and Hunter. He placed the blade back in its rightful place on the displays in the Hall and turned to Hunter. "I have considered what your judgement should be, and have decided that you have repaid your debt to us." He told Hunter, who looked rather shocked by that.
Despite his shock about the situation and Shifu's decision, he wasn't about to look a gift Panda in the mouth... "Thank you, Master Shifu." he bowed his head in thanks to the old Master.
However, Shifu wasn't quite finished just yet. "There is something else..." He pointed out, and the Five and Po looked at each other wondering what it could be. "You said you opened the Scroll?" he asked and Hunter nodded. "You didn't have to ask for anyone else to open it for you?" Hunter shook his head this time confirming that he opened it himself. "Then it is as I thought..."
Crane stepped forwards. "Why is that such an important thing?" he asked Shifu. "Couldn't any of us have opened it if we wanted to?"
Shifu looked to Crane and shook his head. "No. The Ancient Seals placed on the Scroll ensure that only the fabled 'Heir of China'..." He then turned his head to Hunter. "Or the one who has it within them to find the Heir... Can break the seal and open the Scroll." He said, looking at Hunter with a strange and unreadable expression then, and everyone else apart from Shifu and Hunter looked to one another in bewilderment. Shifu nodded in support of his point to Hunter now, confirming it as the truth. "Further more, I would ask you to stay here with us at The Jade Palace." he requested, much to everyone's shock, leading to gasps and slight whispers among the Five and Po.
"Master?" Viper asked in surprise.
Shifu looked to the shocked faces of the Furious Five. "I can tell he has much potential to become one of us, if not already the makings." He stated to his students. "Besides which, having one so connected to this prophecy remain close to us could prove to be a benefit if it decides to come true anytime soon." Shifu added on to his point of having Hunter stay here and possibly join them.
Po grinned widely and cheered at that. "Whoo! This'll be awesome! A new member of the Five! Or wait, won't it be Six now...?" he spoke thoughtfully, clearly in favour of the suggestion either way. "Or maybe he'll be like me, just an asskicking warrior who joins the Five!"
Hunter didn't look as sure as Po did though, his eyes not meeting Shifu's as he spoke, an odd amount of uncertainty in his words compared to usual. "I... I'm not sure, Master Shifu... A prophecy...? This doesn't really sound like my kinda thing..." He shook his head, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "No offence to you or your 'prophecy', but no one dictates my life but me. Not the Emperor and certainly not some prophecy." He cut through the air with his hand to accentuate his point.
Shifu chuckled at his uncertainty with the situation and his denial of the prophecy, remembering how Oogway had referred to Hunter. "I'll wager that Master Oogway knew, or at least had an inkling that you were connected to a Prophecy, if not this one in particular." He pointed out, but saw that Hunter looked ready to bolt out of the Palace at any minute and run for the hills. And he wasn't sure if it was only because of this sudden revelation either... "At least give it a week. If you still feel the same way, you'll be free to go. And you can consider any wrongdoing that occurred stealing the Scroll to be completely forgotten." Shifu suggested a compromise to Hunter.
Hunter seemed to give the situation some thought, the look in his eyes becoming a mix of several emotions, although he hid it well enough that no one could tell exactly what he was thinking. "Alright Master Shifu. I'll give it a week." he nodded in apprehensive agreement with the suggestion.
Tigress was glaring at him now, but had lost her scowl which was lucky for Hunter... Po cheered louder at him agreeing to Shifu's compromise and Viper had a small if unsure smile on her face while Monkey, Crane and Mantis all looked rather confused by what Shifu had said. "How come we've never heard of this prophecy?" Mantis asked Shifu.
Shifu seemed to only just realise no one else knew what this prophecy was... "Oh!" he chuckled a bit then, remembering that it wasn't a famous legend like The Dragon Warrior was. "It's not a widely known prophecy like the Dragon Scroll, as it was thought to have already been fulfilled centuries ago, although Master Oogway was never convinced it was truly fulfilled to completion. Or so he said in his scrolls." He further explained to everyone. "All I was told about was the seals on the Scroll and I'd 'know when it was time to find the Heir'."
Monkey chuckled at that. "Sounds like Master Oogway alright." he nodded at that, with everyone also giving nods in agreement.
Hunter still didn't look at all happy about being part of any kind of prophecy. "Look, I'm just a simple Bounty Hunter, not any kind of hinging point to this prophecy or whatever." he shook his head, scowling now much like Tigress had earlier, turning to go back outside.
Shifu then shook his head and remembered his Master's wise words. "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." he stated to Hunter, who stopped walking and turned his head to Shifu, who was looking at him sympathetically since he had once heard those exact words himself and likely felt much the same way Hunter currently was... Hunter then left the Hall without another word.
Tigress looked at Shifu then, having had time to process what her Master had revealed to them. "Master, are you sure that The Hunter is connected to this... Prophecy?" she asked her old Master.
Shifu looked to Tigress and nodded with utmost certainty. "Yes, I am. Him opening the Scroll, Oogway's interest in him and the fact he invited Hunter to the Palace many times in the past... It is no accident. There are no accidents after all. And then him stealing this Scroll in particular? Hearing it calling? Leading to him also returning it and revealing to us that he has opened it? No mere set of coincidences." He pointed out the strange sequence of events to his students, all of whom seemed to realise he was correct. "I can also see he has much to offer the Jade Palace, even if he does not yet see it." Shifu said to everyone, turning and walking out of the room himself, putting the Sword back as he did.
Viper then slithered over and touched Tigress' shoulder. "If Master Shifu is right, that means he was telling the truth. The Scroll called to him and urged him to take it. He didn't have much choice in the matter." she pointed out.
Tigress' expression softened for but a fraction of a second. "Maybe, but he still stole the Sword for Su. He won't be trusted that easily, even if he is connected to some kind of Prophecy." She stated, looking towards where Hunter had walked and narrowing her eyes. He was odd, that was for sure. He acts cold and distant towards them, and then risks his own life for hers... She couldn't make sense of it all, which was odd for her. At least he appeared to be somewhat honourable from what she could tell.