"Idiot..."
Tigress angrily stomped around her room of the barracks.
"Idiot!" She repeated, plopping herself down on the bed.
She laid there motionless, eyes wide open and staring so intensely at the ceiling she nearly bore holes in it.
"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."
She rotated her body 90 degrees to lay on her side, finding a new spot to glare unrelentingly at. A few minutes passed before she tossed her body to her opposite side. Silence surrounded her, but she couldn't find it in herself to relax.
Suddenly, she sprang up into a sitting position and covered her face with her paws. "I'm such an idiot."
What came over me? She asked herself. I finally had him alone. There was no lioness in sight. What happened at dinner? Why didn't I just let him finish speaking?!
Tigress shot to her feet and bolted to the exit. Once outside, she charged to the nearest tree and delivered a punch that left a sizable indent in the trunk. Removing her clenched paw, A red splotch shimmered in the indent matching the sanguine liquid trickling from her knuckles.
"This hurts," she said aloud, but not in reference to her bleeding paw.
She exhaled the remaining anger from her body, laid down in the grass, and gazed at the universe.
"Why are you here?" She questioned the void. "And, why do I need you?"
Unbeknownst to her, another organism in the vast universe was querying the same things. A mere 500 yards from where Tigress lay, Aden mirrored the dark sky's gaze. The Jade Crystals dangled precariously between his fingers, as if letting the item slip from his grasp and losing the option of to go back was more enticing than making the conscious decision to do so.
Aden looked down at the artifact Bang had requested of him. It was 4 fluorescent green crystals almost 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches in length secured in a formation similar to that of a hand fan. The metal that held the crystals in place was a pitch black, textured brace that elegantly swirled around each crystal. The glow from each crystal pulsated, illuminating his face and clearly illustrating how truly powerful they truly were.
"Isn't this what I wanted?" He asked the crystals. "I go back, and my friends are safe?"
Suddenly, a small droplet of water bounced off Aden's forehead. He glanced up to see a dark formation consume the stars. More and more droplets began to fall, yet Aden moved at the same pace. He slithered back through the empty streets, his clothes growing heavier with each passing moment under the heaven's downpour.
KAKOOM!
Lightning flashed across the sky, while Aden continued down the wet path. His feet sloshed through the increasing level of water, and as the restaurant came into view, an empty sigh escaped his lips. He pushed the door open just as another surge of lightning crackled, briefly illuminating the entryway, yet most of it was blocked by his silhouette towering monstrously in front of him. The same eerie silence from before hung in the air, as he made his way through the empty room and towards the doors he left less than an hour ago.
Even though he'd been in and out of this room multiple times today, he stopped before entering this time. He glanced down at the glowing crystals clutched in his hands. He'd nearly forgotten who he was by this point. The thought of turning around and sprinting back to Tigress crossed his mind for a mere moment. But, a dull pain quickly redirected him into the room.
Liu sat in the chair she'd drugged him in, her feet propped up on the table in a lounging fashion. She wore a gorgeous traditional white tunic with swirling red accents that nearly resembled blood dripping down her torso.
"Oh, Aden," She cooed. "It's so wonderful to see you. And, I see you've brought a gift."
Aden stood quietly in response, stone faced.
"Not in the mood to chat?" She smugly asked, chuckling a bit. "Ok, then. Follow me."
She elegantly rose from her seat and waltzed towards the far wall. Her paw rubbed against the weathered stone hypnotically until stalling over a random crease. Gripping it tightly, she pulled until the sound of stones grinding reverberated about the room. The seemingly arbitrary crease slowly grew in apparentness, creating the rectangular form of a door. She continued to pull until the stone had moved nearly 90 degrees, revealing a dimly lit, descending stairway.
Liu glanced over at Aden and gestured with her head for him to enter. Without even the slightest change in expression, Aden passed through the secret doorway, a gust of cold wind rushing past him as he began walking down. The lioness followed behind, yanking on a rope which sealed the door behind them, reducing the light to just the glow of the Jade Crystals and a few candles.
"Did you say your goodbyes to all your little friends?" Liu caustically asked.
Aden continued walking silently.
"Awww, did that hurt?" She continued to verbally assault him.
He didn't even flinch.
Liu's annoyance grew with each passing moment of no response. "What is wrong with you? You think you're superior to me?!"
Only the echoes of their footsteps responded to her.
Her blood began to boil. "I don't know what I expected from a lousy beast like yo-"
"I'm sorry."
The stairway went silent. The 2 mammals had stopped moving simultaneously, and Aden slowly turned his head to look back at Liu. He said nothing, but he didn't need to. Even in the low lighting, Liu could see how completely broken he was. His eyes were lifeless, and any insult she threw at him simply bounced around the hollow shell of himself. Her eyes grew wide and she gained a look of shock like a deer in headlights.
The human turned back around quietly and resumed walking. The lioness followed shortly after.
The silence lasted nearly a minute before Liu broke it with a quiet and simple, "Fool…"
Eventually, they came across another stone door that Aden was able to push open with a bit of effort. He walked into the hall and was nearly ripped from his depressive stupor at the unbelievable size of what was in front of him. Tan colored stone blocks formed the massive interior of the rectangular room. Every surface was lined with meticulously engraved chinese characters and drawings.
At the opposite end of the room stood a marvelous statue. The chest and waist and face were nearly non-existent, yet there was a rigid outline of a majestic pose from the figure. What stood out the most though were the hands, feet, crown. They were made out of the same tan stone of the room jutting out from the wall much farther than the rest of the statue and covered in unbelievably intricate carvings. The lines trailed so closely to each other that it looked as if the artist had started at one point and mapped out the whole thing.
"My boy!"
Aden looked up to the right to see the figure of Bang standing upon a high platform raising both his arms up in a greeting fashion. Aden didn't respond to his call, though.
"I'm so glad to see you," Bang added. "And, look what you brought!"
The human looked down at the Jade Crystals, almost as if he'd forgotten they were there.
Unexpectedly, Bang jumped from the platform, landing with an impact that violently shook where Aden waited. It was a near 15 foot fall from where he leapt, yet the boar began walking towards them as if he was taking the last step of a staircase.
Liu sashayed past Aden and towards Bang's side. "We're both ecstatic you were willing to listen to reason."
The entire time Bang moved towards him he met his gaze with a warm smile plastered across his face. But for a split second, Bang's eyes moved to Liu. It was over before it even happened, but something about Liu's demeanor changed in that moment. Her movements grew almost ashamed, and her ears twitched slightly.
Bang chuckedly inwardly. "It may have taken a little extra convincing, but you're making the right choice. Your true family and friends can't wait to have you around again."
Aden immediately perked up upon hearing the word family, but then his stomach began to tighten. A guilty feeling grew in his stomach to the point he felt he would vomit. He looked down once again and clutched the Jade crystals until his hands began to hurt.
"I know," Bang's face dawned a sympathetic look. "It's not an easy choice. But we both know you don't belong here."
The boar moved until he was directly in front of him, and placed a hoof on his shoulder. The human had to crane his neck to look up at the towering boar. The feeling of guilt sat like a weight in his stomach as he searched Bang's face for the truth. What he was looking for, he wasn't quite sure.
"What is this place?" Aden spoke for the first time since entering the room.
Bang laughed and turned around to present the room. "This, my boy, is the Valley's power source! The energy in those crystals can be directed through this tomb and jump our society hundreds of years into the future! This restaurant's been here longer than you'd think, and we didn't want this to get into the wrong hands, so we kept it hush hush. Beautiful isn't it?"
"Yeah..."
"All we need are those babies in your arms right there, and I think you'll like it even more."
Aden hugged the Jade Crystals like his life depended on it.
"Take your time," Bang added.
Silence clouded the room as Aden remained still. Bang and Liu patiently waited for the human's body to relax. Slowly but surely, his arms eased their snake like grip on the artifact. He held it in front of him and gazed deeply into its fluorescent glow. He desperately searched it's gorgeous hue for his reflection because he wasn't quite sure what who he even was anymore. When he saw nothing, he decided it was time to let go.
Aden sighed. "Ok… I'm ready."
Bang casually held his furry hoof out, and Aden hesitantly rested the crystals in it.
The boar gave him a light pat on the back and began walking towards the statue, a slight pep in his step as he moved.
"I can't thank you enough," Bang danced up a small set of stairs behind the statue. "This gift will change everything for us."
Aden responded with a simple nod.
"In fact," Bang continued, as he stood directly behind the statue's crown. "It's so generous of you that I actually want to give you some time to say goodbye to everyone."
Aden's whole body perked up upon hearing that. Time to say goodbye? Time to reconcile with Tigress? Time to reconsider his entire decision of leaving? Liu even noticed the immediate change in his demeanor
"Really?" Aden's now much brighter voice asked. "I can stay for a little while longer?"
"Absolutely." Bang ripped 2 crystals from the metal brace and held them in front of himself. "You'd better hurry, though. I don't know if they'll be around much longer."
At that moment, Aden's face went through a transformation of one of pure happiness to pure confusion and then to complete and utter horror.
"Looks like I lied, bucko."
Bang released a deep grunt and slammed the 2 crystals into open slots on the peaks of the crown. A surge of green light burst from those points and began rapidly trailing through the distinct contours of it. It shot through each and every turn, painting the crown in the same green light, then moving to the hands, and finally the feet. But, It wasn't even near finished yet. It expanded to the carvings in the wall, bathing everyone in the room in an intense glow, and as the light grew stronger and stronger, Aden and Liu were forced to shield their eyes while Bang's maniacal laughter bounced around the room.
Suddenly, the blinding luminescence vanished. When Aden and Liu looked again, all that remained of the glow was circulating throughout the veins of the statue. What was more worrisome is that Bang was floating in between the crown, hands, and feet.
"Now this feels right," Bang grinned.
He began clenching and unclenching his fist, which the stone fist would then mimic. He inspected it for a few more moments before punching forward, launching the stone fist like a rocket on a trajectory right through Aden's skull. Aden ducked just in time, the fist whirring past his head and blowing chunks out of the wall behind him. Bang giggled like a schoolgirl then made a pulling motion with his hoof causing the fist to fly right back into position next to him.
"This is amazing." Bang laughed. "Like I said, I really can't thank you enough."
"You lied to me?!" Aden screamed.
"Of course I did!" Bang laughed even louder. "You're the dumbest fucking alien I've ever met, and I've only met one so far! You're never making it back home! But, hey, look at the bright side! At least you won't have to see the look of betrayal on the Furious Five's faces once they're buried!"
Hi :3
I know, I know. It's been a while. But, I have a good reason for it! I'm not sure how many of you actually read these author notes, but for those who do, here's an update!
Life for me has been absolutely bonkers these past few months. I lost my job, moved back home, parent's got Coronavirus, I got Coronavirus, family got better, I quarantined myself with my girlfriend, got my job back in a different state, moved 9 hours away for my new job, and for the past 2 months I've been furnishing my apartment from the ground up and just generally getting my life back together. I didn't intend for the break to be this long, but I also didn't anticipate a whole pandemic lmao.
I love you all,
Retsuko