The blue bristles of the paintbrush slowly stroked the surface of the paper, filling the void between the black lines. Every stroke was of an expert, even if the talons were holding the handle in a death-grip. The painting was almost done, it only needed subtle shading under the feet of the protagonist. The artist dipped the brush in water, cleaning it from the blue pigment, before replacing the cleanliness with a hint of darkness. Then, he took a deep breath to get ahold of his unusual trembling and focused on the task at hand. Delicate circles of darkness hugged the skinny legs of the main actor, the painter himself slowly exhaled and closed his eyes.
The piece was finished.
The artist flapped his wings subtly at the painting, trying to help the drying process. Meanwhile, he inspected the whole picture with a critical eye, trying to decide how successful it turned out to be. He noticed some differences between his vision and what the final product was, and just these contrasts reminded him of his stubborn melancholy. The focused frown of an artist disappeared as his body slouched.
He sighed. Damnit, not even his favorite hobby could distract him from the sour smudge of today's memories.
Five knocks shook his door. Crane listened to the sounds, and his gloomy mind puzzled together who it could be. The person had a fist; he guessed from the bluntness of the noise, crossing Viper, Mantis and Zeng out from the possible visitors' list. The fact that they knocked and didn't just open it without a care in the world eliminated Tigress. The sound came from the level of his beak, so the person must have been around his height, something Master Shifu wasn't. And then there was the fact that every normal person would only knock twice, except if they were less knowledgeable with traditions, crossing out Monkey too. This left one person on the list.
"You never had problems with coming in uninvited before, Po."
His door moved, sliding sideways as it revealed the black and white form of his friend.
"Yeah, but it always messes up your work and the air freezes after that, which is, y'know, kinda awkward…" the panda said with a shrug. His eyes needn't much time to find the different tools scattered on the ground, such as a piece of wood with goops of colored pigments sheening in the sunset's light, and a medium-sized Hanging Scroll laid down next to that.
"So… what's up? I see you were painting."
"That I was."
"…You only do that when you are upset."
Crane looked at his fellow Master curiously.
"I do?"
"Yeah, it's like me and eating. I eat a lot when I'm upset."
Crane acknowledged Po's words with a nod and began putting his painting tools away, back into a decently sized wooden box.
"You must be wondering why I'm here?" Po spoke up from his place in the doorway.
"That I do."
"I'm here, because you weren't at today's performance analysis, which was weird because you are kind of today's hero."
Crane was midway of putting his brush into the box, but upon hearing this, he froze. The brush fell into the box with an audible clack.
"I… honestly doubt that's true."
"Oh, come on! You single-handedly beat seven bandits at once! Even Tigress has problems with that many opponents if they gang up on her, and she is Tigress."
Crane cringed and continued putting away his tools.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for not showing up. Had to distract my mind from this day."
Po cocked his head at the lack of dry comment, something very unusual. As Crane used a piece of cloth to clean the pigments off the plank, the panda noticed that the scroll on the ground wasn't totally blank, on the contrary actually; it had a whole picture on it. Seeing that his friend was busy, he sauntered over to get a better look.
"Wow. Something definitely happened back there."
The painting was a little hard to see in the room's gradually dulling lighting. Po could make out some city at night that reminded him of Gongmen, just without the tall tower. It was also on fire, so there's that too. On the side, he saw a lone character watching the burning city from the end of a towering cliff. The character was clearly a bird, with defined and detailed wings, feathers and the rest. From the rice hat on its head and the purple sash around his stomach, Po didn't need to be a genius to figure who this was. Another curious detail among the many was that the bird bowed before the city with teary eyes, like it was grieving it.
This was not a picture drawn by happiness, that's for sure.
His musings stopped when the avian picked up the Hanging Scroll, dragging it out of the panda's sight, and gently hanged it on a little wooden hook poking out from the nearby wall. Now the picture was looking back at its own creator and Crane just stood there, gazing at it without a word.
Po tried something else. "You know, me and the guys agree that you did very well, maybe even the best today."
Crane blinked and shook his head, the focus coursing back to his yellow eyes.
"Even Tigress?" he said, turning to his friend.
"Well, she couldn't deny the results when she saw it with her own eyes."
Crane's eyes dropped to the ground, a small smile tugging the base of his beak.
"Thanks Po."
Said panda smiled back, happy that it worked. Others' good opinion on him always had a swell effect on the feathered Master. Seeing that the conversation stopped here from both sides, Po bowed and turned around to leave.
"By the way," Po asked from the doorway, "Will you be there for dinner? I may be making your favorite."
"My favorite, until Monkey's fingers find the Szechuan sauce."
Po snorted at how Crane's sarcasm made its comeback. "No worries about that anymore, because I've hidden it this time."
"And you think that will stop him, how?"
"…Good point," Po conceded, "So, will you come?"
Crane sighed with a sharp nod, finally surrendering to the tug of that damned smile. Seeing the panda leave, he too was about to turn back to his own business, some tools were still not put away in the end, but the combination of a yelp and a thump from the doorway had his head snap back.
"I'm afraid dinner has to be postponed today." came the voice of not Po, but a familiar elderly red panda.
"Someday, you've got to show me how you do this." groaned Po as he collected himself from the ground.
Shifu smiled at him, knowing that no, he wouldn't. Not because he didn't like Po, but because it was humorous to the red panda how startled and bewildered the Dragon Warrior got every time he used this simple trick.
Plus, he needed his own secrets.
Seeing quick movement from the side of his sight, he turned his attention there. He saw the owner of the room, Master Crane, who, much to his confusion, was bowing to him.
"Greetings, Master Shifu." he said, that round hat of his perfectly shielding his face.
This was concerning. Had it been a year before, Shifu wouldn't have batted an eye at the gesture, but that was before Po came along and opened his eyes on several things. It was also before Shifu officially retired from being the Teacher of the Furious Five and before said group of Masters became part of the Masters' Council. Officially, everyone in the Jade palace was on the same level, except for maybe the Dragon Warrior, who was technically above them. Technically, because Po still interacted with them like when he first joined the Jade palace. Idols, that's what they were in his eyes.
Point is, Shifu and the Five were at the same level in the hierarchy, and the red panda couldn't emphasize that he deserved no more of the respect given to a Teacher. He had to literally beat it into the Five and even Po in the end, but it worked.
So why did it come back?
Shifu also noticed the new addition to the usually empty room. A quick look at what the picture entailed, the information of the earlier raid on the village, and the knowledge of Master Crane's habits painted a worrying picture, literally.
Ah. Of course.
"…As I said, dinner will have to wait. A new artifact has been brought to the Jade Palace." he said, his staff hitting the ground for added emphasis.
Shifu could hear Po's mouth widening and his excitement going through the roof.
"A new artifact?! No way!" the mentioned Dragon Warrior was already through his first 'battle pose' "What is it? An ancient sword of some cool, justice-serving hero? The armor of a robust, insane overlord?! Or perhaps the magical fake leg of that one master with the-"
"It's a vase."
"Ughhh"
It was almost comical how the panda could get into the character of a fanboy. The way he used katas, kicks and sweeps while prancing around Shifu, and how he even jumped high to execute a midair spin-kick for the added emphasis was such a Po thing to do. Getting disappointed also midair and falling face-first was another example, and Crane had to keep his beak strapped together to not let a sudden giggle escape.
"Seriously?" Po asked, still laying on the floor, his flattened face kissing the ground. "You went away for two weeks for an empty vase?!"
"Had I said it was empty?" Shifu asked with a raised eyebrow at the 'comfy-looking' panda.
"Right." only now did Po raise his head to show his unimpressed face. "It has air in it."
"Well, if you think Elemental Chi, the most mysterious and dangerous thing in China, is comparable to mere air, then yes, your disappointment is justified."
While Shifu was explaining, Po managed to sit up as he gave the red panda his undivided attention.
"Mysterious and dangerous you say…"
"The most mysterious and dangerous."
"The most dangerous or just dangerous period."
"The most dangerous… without a period."
…
Crane honestly felt forgotten. But he didn't mind, God no, this back-and-forth challenge between basically Yin and Yang dressed as two pandas entertained him to a degree. It also helped dull that stubborn ache in his chest, and honestly, good riddance.
"Yeeah." Po said, dragging the word out while nodding in his satisfaction. "I can roll with that. We must defend such a valuable artifact from the likes of bandits and thieves, mustn't we?"
"That's… the point of bringing it to the Palace." Shifu replied, but Po was already in its own world.
Said panda got up from the ground and made his way out of Crane's room.
"Don't mind me, I'll just make sure that absolutely no one touches this… newcomer. If they do, they will have a taste from the justice I will serve on them…"
The echo of the corridor drowned his continued mumbling before it was no more. Shifu just looked at the doorway, his jaw slack and his eyes wide by a great deal of astonishment. He turned towards Crane to ask a silent question, to which the Master just shrugged and shook his head.
The weary red panda rubbed his face and sighed. "It's official, I'll never understand this panda, nor will I get used to his oddity."
"You gotta admit, though, it is endearing on some level."
"Would be lying if I said no." Shifu said accompanied by a smile. It quickly disappeared once his hand left his face.
He saw the transition on Shifu's face, only now did Crane notice how dim the room became.
He witnessed his old Master's gaze wander behind him. The simple gesture of an old, trained eye ended up being a huge catalyst. This flat, yet dense and heavy feeling nestled back to this place above his heart, like it was never gone in the first place. The dipping of both his posture and his smile made the change clear to anyone watching him.
Shifu didn't comment, just walked over to the painting, his feet making no noise whatsoever. He did not even spare a glance at the avian next to him. Instead, his eyes jumped from one side of the painting to the other, top half to the bottom half, right corners to the left corners, through the middle.
"Art is like a language on its own. Used right, it can tell stories. Stories of triumph and glory, stories of joy and family, stories of grief and horror…" Shifu paused and looked at Crane's still form. "…stories of failure and misery."
The further dropping of shoulders was all the answer Shifu needed.
"Painting a figure, overlooking destruction and the loss of lives is a sign of a person who lacks any sense of morality and finds joy in watching others' fight a battle they are destined to lose. Bowing before a burning city is a sign of respect to the fallen. Covering the character's face means either shame or the complete loss of identity. You painted two very different stories, stories that conflict with each other. My question is…"
Crane didn't even resist the staff that gently forced him to face the red panda.
"Which one are you?"
"The failing one."
Shifu didn't even blink at the immediate answer, just watched as the Master of the Fujian White Crane technique, the one he himself trained for over two decades, the bird of peace, the thinker of the Furious Five stared at him with yellow eyes, that made the color's naïve shine become dreary real and its vitality vulnerable. The eyes of an artist, desperately searching an out of the frightening razor blades that was guilt. This person was subduing himself and letting a mere stick, glorified as Oogway's staff, control his movements.
"The one that… watched a family lose almost everything they have worked for with vigor. The one that made a careless mistake, and not only did he help the enemies succeed, but took away the light from a child's eyes. A child who viewed him as an idol, an example what to become… And the one that knows a situation where apologies and compensation wouldn't work anymore."
"Admitting a mistake takes bravery and selflessness Master Crane. I hope you realize that. It also opens up a flood that starts slow and forced but ends up being free and unstoppable. Your last words were what you truly felt and thought, and it couldn't have been stopped even if you put yourself in the flood. Tell me, what wouldn't work anymore?"
Crane just looked at his old Master's strict and stoic face. It was a well-practiced mask that took years of training and discipline to master.
"Well, failure rarely resonates well with the title 'member of the Furious Five', so... that."
It actually felt good to say it out loud. His resolve, small as it may be, managed to keep a level of denial in him. That resolve was clearly leaking like no other, the picture he just spent more than an hour or two is clear evidence of that.
"Do you doubt your place in the Furious Five, Master Crane?"
"I-"
"Because if so, it seems I need to teach you a lesson that shouldn't be taught."
Suddenly, the staff that had been keeping the avian from looking away was hooked under his left wing. It stung, and Crane cringed, but kept silent as Shifu effortlessly dragged him outside of his room to the pitch-black of the corridors, outside of the barracks to the sunset-orange outdoors and the grassy and uneven area before the building's gate. Then came the stairs, leading from their residence to the Palace itself, and it sure as hell wasn't a pleasant experience to be hauled down on that, but he didn't utter a word. The red panda didn't look to be in the mood for talking it out. After the stairs disappeared, the familiar tiles of the Palace Arena came, where Oogway had chosen Po to be the Dragon Warrior.
Crane shuddered at the thought that Shifu would drag him up to the palace itself, but much to his relief, his master stopped right before its staircase.
"Tell me, what do you see here?"
Crane gulped at the deadly calm question and looked around.
"We are… in the arena?" he tried, but Shifu kept dangerously silent.
Wrong answer then.
"There are the walls, the stands for the spectators, the main gate… the P-palace building up there and… I think the guys are there too."
"What are they doing?"
"They are talking and… laughing. Mantis is telling a story It looks like."
"What do you think, how do they feel at the moment?"
"Erm… they look happy. Maybe even calm?"
Crane's heart did a backflip when Shifu's staff hit the ground before him with a resounding thud.
"Now what do you think would happen if you suddenly up and left? Do you think they'll be happy and calm?!"
'No' was the answer. As far as he knew, they would search him up and beat some sense into him.
A screaming silence descended upon them. Shifu glared at Crane, something that may have had a big role in inspiring Crane's realization of what his master's point was. He didn't dare to move, fearing that the smallest of movements could ignite something in the elderly Master. He even stopped breathing, just to be safe.
Much to his relief though, Shifu pulled his staff back and sighed. Crane's body relaxed in accordance with his ex-Teacher's.
"Your thoughts are noble, trying to think long distance and for the bigger whole. If there was one person I would definitely believe was from actual noble line, it was you." Shifu began, and at this statement Crane couldn't control the doubting snort. Shifu ignored it.
"You have a family here, five very different siblings that would die for you and they know you would do the same. One reason I accepted you five all those years ago was because the bond you shared was obvious and I would throw away the closest thing to what the Furious Five looked in my time."
"You made a mistake, Master Crane, but no mistake can't be fixed, only the ones with intention, but those aren't mistakes anymore."
Crane closed his eyes and let the words reach him. His mind didn't know which path of logic to believe. One part has the face of Xiao perfectly ingrained, as it was morphing from adoring to confusion, to disappointment and sorrow badly masked by awkwardness. It also had the tone of elder Lao, tired and crispy, with that tiny bitter hint of disappointment, that was like snake venom in a bowl of soup; no matter how much you stirred, boiled or filtered the soup, it would always be a death sentence for you.
The other part was making sure he remembered all those adventures and escapades he did with his, dare he call them, brothers and sisters. All those smiles and laughs, the moments of familiarity he felt only years into his Kung Fu training, which he felt with full force nonetheless. The moments of warmth, be it from his timidity or flattery, that always permeated him when the people of the quaint village praised the Furious Five as a unit. Every single adventure and conflict since Po joined their family, his incredible stories that may or may not have been true, depending on whether the events happened in the panda's head.
He made his decision.
"You are right, Master Shifu. I'm sorry for my selfishness."
He missed how the red panda rolled his eyes and finally let out a smile.
"The line between selfishness and selflessness is thick, but perspectives can make it very flexible. Now come on, we made them wait enough. The M and M duo was never famous for their patience, even if one of them is a doctor."
Crane let a small smile make way. Maybe, maybe Shifu and that other half of his head are right. He just had to figure out how to make up for his mistake for that family.
"There's no way that survived. Literally the only thing keeping that together is glue."
"That must be some glue if it survived a statue smashing into it."
"I need to get some of that. Do you think Zeng would lend me any?"
The subject of the topic was the Urn of Whispering Warriors. As of now, two geese servants were gently placing it on top of a stand at the back of the Hall of Heroes. After the destruction Kai had caused, most believed the artifacts were damaged at best, destroyed at worst. The workers recently finished the rebuilding of the hall and they did an amazing job; the hall looked almost identical to its pre-statue-smashed, roof-collapsed-on look. Almost, because the places of the legendary artifacts were empty. The only ones that were saved are Master Flying Rhino's Armor and the Invisible Trident of Destiny. How they found that is a complete mystery, but considering that its existence is perplexing, no one batted an eye. The explanation to that wouldn't have made any sense either.
Apparently, they found the re-glued urn amongst the destruction too, and it was only missing one of its handles. Now, it was being put into its original place and the Furious Five were looking at the artifact in understandable bafflement while Po and Shifu were at the other side of the Hall, whispering among each other. Shifu specifically asked for a private chat with Po, so now the Furious Five couldn't do anything but wait on the sidelines.
"I think…" Crane began slowly, his head cocked in curiosity "I have an idea how this is possible."
"Really? Then please, do indulge us. An actual answer would be nice right about now." Mantis said, crossing his front legs impatiently.
Crane glanced at the pair of servants chatting next to the urn. They were the ones who put the artifact there. He mainly focused on the one with the yellow robe who did most of the talking. They knew him as quite the coy servant, so that blinding smile was an unusual sight for the eye.
"Well, if I am not 'about ready to choke on my own spit' as one might say…"
"Come on dude, I already apologised!"
"…Then I can tell with no certainty that Zeng saved it."
"How do you guess that?" Monkey asked, smiling at his bummed best friend's karma.
"Well, he is unusually upbeat these days, and didn't really tell anyone why. It would make sense if he managed to save the urn."
"Wasn't he the one who put it back together after Po broke it?" Viper added her two cents.
"He was." Tigress agreed "I saw him lurking around with a bag after we heard about Kai coming here."
"That means nothing. It could have been his belongings." Viper noted, prompting some nods from the ground.
"Either way, I can feel the dude. If they made me put together something like that, I wouldn't want it to break again. Way too much work." Monkey said, his Bo staff comfortably leaning on his shoulder.
"You know, speaking of feeling things… don't you guys feel like, something powerful is around?" Viper asked, her tail twitching periodically nervously.
"Now that you mention it, it does feel pretty dense in here…" Monkey said.
"It must be the new artifact Shifu brought," Tigress agreed distractedly. Her eyes raised towards the other side of the Hall, trying to peek at the item. Unfortunately, the panda's body blocked her sight, and it only strengthened her frown.
"That, or the hall needs some serious airing. Either way, breathing is kinda hard and none of you have lungs as small as mine." Mantis complained. The rest of the five noticed him taking deep breaths occasionally ever since they stepped into the hall.
"Are you going to be okay, though?" Crane asked. He emphasized with his friend, this day has already been a marathon for his own lungs, this air wasn't making it easier.
Mantis took another deep breath and nodded "Yeah, thanks for worrying."
"Hey guys, they are calling for us." Viper said in a hiss, making them forget about the 'powerful' air for a moment. They turned just to see Po motioning them to come forward. Obeying the panda, they stepped before their two Masters, trying hard not to show their discomfort at the sudden increase of the already strong aura.
"Students, there is no need to be anxious. As long as the vase is not tampered with, it can cause no harm." Shifu said, smirking at how suddenly everyone tried to stop their nervous tics. Tigress had her hands in fists to stop her nail clicking. Mantis frowned, trying to suppress his antennae twitching, while Crane kept his wings tight to himself. Viper hid the end of her tail behind her body and Monkey was gripping his staff, trying not to fidget.
"Come on guys, it's totally safe. Trust me, I tried to open it. It's locked." Po reassured, but from the horrified looks he received, it wasn't as reassuring as he hoped it to be. He could also see Shifu from the side of his eye, giving him an annoyed look.
"Heheh… woopsie?"
"As I said…" Shifu continued with an exhale, looking back at the five Masters in front of him. "The vase is locked and cannot be opened until the Chi inside doesn't want to leave."
"Doesn't… want to leave? It's alive?" Mantis asked
"That is unknown whether the Chi is 'alive', but from what Master Oogway told me, it's seemingly moving on its own and doesn't react well to Natural chi."
"What's the difference between normal Chi and this other chi?" Monkey asked. In the meantime, Tigress had been giving the worst stink eye at Po, trying to make the panda move so they could finally see that damned vase already. Even though the panda was obviously trying to avoid looking back at her, he has been surprisingly persistent.
"As you all know, Chi is the energy flowing through all living things. But most don't even realize that the word 'all' means more than it first seems." Shifu said and nodded towards Po. Said panda returned the nod and faced his friends. He still didn't look at Tigress, and she almost rolled her eyes at that.
"Okay, so. There is a difference between living things and not-living living things. Me, Shifu, you and every person or plant are living things because we are alive. But with nature and stuff, everything is alive in a sense. Does that make sense?"
"Nope."
"No idea what you just said."
"Try telling it in a language we understand, that might work."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Damn I'm bad at this teaching by word stuff." Po mumbled, before clearing his throat. "So, everything is alive in nature. People and plants are the first things that come to mind, but nature is more than that. Everything that has energy, has chi. So like, when the wind blows really fast, you feel it trying to… move you, right?" his answer was nods all around. "Great, so that means wind has energy, but it isn't alive. Now you might think, 'well gee, Po, how could you be so stupid? Not every kind of energy means it's chi.' But you would be wrong then. Chi is the thing that… that…"
"Pervades." Shifu said as a help.
"Pervades! Yeah, that's the word. It pervades everything and if you think about it, it's actually a lot like food. It links everything and everybody together."
The Furious Five couldn't help but crack a smile at the analogy. They already understood the point he was making after the example with wind, but Po got into explaining, and who would have the heart to stop him once he gets into the character of a teacher? The food line was the cherry on top.
"Thank you, Po." Shifu said, satisfied, before taking over the presentation. "Without further ado, welcome our newest tradition to the Jade Palace, the Vase of the Wu Xing."
Only now did Po step aside to show the stand, and the item placed on it. It was a golden porcelain vase with a dome-shaped top, also golden, and a sizeable plate beneath. The artifact had a column of five words in different colors embed into its round body. All five words had a line of the corresponding color, going in a perpendicular direction to the column itself. At the top was a teal line, connecting to the word 'wood'. Under that was 'fire' in red. Then came 'earth' in yellow, 'metal' in white and last, 'water' in dark blue.
Strangely, the top had another word on it. It was 'wind' and it differed completely from the rest. The differences included its position being on the top and not on the body, its size being halved when compared to the other five, its direction being upside down and the lack of lines connecting to it. The most noticeable one was probably the fact it was pure black, not a color you would associate with wind.
"To understand what the vase contains, you need to understand the concept of the Wu Xing, the five elements." Shifu began."It is a harmonic system, where these elements interact with each other, forming a cycle that could be generating or overcoming. They are the very basics of describing the way our world works. Let's begin with wood, representing a phase of vitality and growth."
While Shifu was explaining, the Five and Po were paying attention. Though most would rather be taught by juicy actions, rather than by dry words, they all knew that they needed to understand some stuff in order for the exciting parts to come. The problem came when you didn't pay attention and found yourself in the middle of a situation without a clue of what's going on. Usually, this happened when the particular person wasn't interested or was just simply distracted.
In Mantis' case, he was very much distracted.
At the beginning of the lecture, he found comfort on Monkey's shoulder, opposite to the one where the Bo staff was. Unlucky for him, Monkey recently got a little hanging banner with a face of a cute monkey on it, which he had suited to the end of his staff. Mantis wouldn't have cared about his buddy decorating his weapons, but at the moment it was the bane of his existence. It was literally hanging onto his head, endlessly annoying the insect. He tried swatting it and blowing it away, but it always ended up coming back and hitting him in the face.
He was quite fed up.
"Hey, man, could you-"
"Master Mantis, do you have anything to add?" Shifu asked with a disapproving frown. Mantis realized that every single eye in the hall was looking at him questioningly. He gulped and shook his head.
"Nothing, Master. Please continue."
Shifu gave him a warning glare, before continuing his talk about the third element, Earth. Monkey was snickering at his best friend's embarrassment and even taunted Mantis by making the banner hit the back of his head. This made the insect's eye twitch and his posture to tense. He was irritated, so much in fact, he was very close to snapping. He had to chant the word 'patience' in order to not do something reckless.
"Come on dude," Monkey began in a teasing whisper, "I thought you liked this. You always complained about things not being in your size."
If you want Mantis' wrath, size jokes are the best way to get it.
And Monkey chose the wrong time to make one.
With a loud war cry, Mantis snapped and kicked the Bo staff so hard and so unexpectedly, it went flying out of Monkey's grasp. Jolted, even the geese servants in the hall jerked their attention to the commotion. The staff flew up a few good meters and hit a nearby pillar. It deflected, lost momentum thanks to that and surrendered to gravity. Much to everyone's horror, the staff hit the side of the plate under the vase, making it flip and launch the artifact into the air.
Time had slowed down as the artifact soared, right towards the big nose spike of Master Flying Rhino's Armor. Tigress, Shifu and Viper were the first ones to get out of their shock and they made a beeline to catch the vase before it inevitably shattered on the armor. Unfortunately, even on their highest speed, they would have been late for it. Had it not been because wings really were the biggest cheat anyone could have, it would have definitely broken.
A collective sigh of relief filled the Hall as the handles of the vase were gripped by Master Crane' talons. The bird himself was still barely out of the momentary panic he felt when the artifact was first made flying. Thankfully, his instincts worked.
Shifu too relaxed at the sight and was about to compliment the official saviour of the day, when they heard a sound. The sound was like when a healer mixed herbs in a bowl with a pestle, except there were no herbs in the bowl, so the sound ended up being a loud, high-pitched, painful scratch. Even if it was barely a second long, ears were covered and eyes were shut in excruciating pain.
Po could still hear the sound echoing in his head moments after the actual event. Still, he had the willpower to open his eyes to check up on his friends. Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Master Shifu and the two geese present were on the ground, groaning in pain, probably experiencing the same echo he was. Tigress wasn't faring better, but she at least kept herself on her knees. As his head got clearer, he collected his wits and turned towards his last friend, and also where the sound came from.
He became very confused.
There was Crane, standing on top of the grounded vase, but… he wasn't moving or reacting to the killer sound. He was just standing there, his eyes bigger than any bird could, should have, his beak unhinged and hanging. That one was a normal thing for the avian, it was how he usually shown his shock. The off thing about it was the unnatural look, like there were no more will in the beak, and it was just hanging there. Then there was one simple detail that filled Po with worry; the dull, lifeless eyes. It's like he was unconscious, but something was keeping the body upright and the fur on the panda's neck stood up at the thought.
"C-crane…?"
The master in question didn't react, but he needn't. Po finally noticed another oddity; all the words and lines on the vase were glowing in their respective colors, the darkness of 'wind' shining the brightest ironically. And if this wasn't concerning enough, the top of the vase has moved and was now only half covering the top. Po needed a second to realize what he was seeing.
The vase was open.
Crane's collapsing body distracted him enough to finally collect his wits and his strength, and rush over to his unconscious friend.
"Oh man, this is not good." Po mumbled, kneeling down and looking over the avian for any signs of life.
"I'll take care of it." Mantis said, coming into the picture with a jump. "Turn him on his side!"
Po followed the troubled looking insect's orders with gentle movements, not knowing what would happen but trusting Mantis. He was the doctor here, so he should know what's up. After Crane was lying on his left side, the insect put one of his forefoot on Crane's neck. Closing his oval eyes, he hummed gently and much to Po's surprise, the deep voice of the insect resonated recurrently, like a heartbeat. Po needn't much time to realize whose he was hearing and allowed his hopes to grow. Mantis stayed like this for an additional moment before opening his eyes and nodding, satisfied by the results. Then he jumped up to Crane's face and pried one of the now closed eyes open. Po has never realized how intensive yellow the avian's pools were, even on that scary dull mode. Like they were actually shining or something. The insect was taken aback by it too, before returning to his search.
He sighed when he found (or didn't) what he searched for.
"All right. He is alive, just knocked out for good."
"What… happened?" Viper asked, her usual natural sliding being jerky and swaying. As the others also recovered, they followed her example and went over to see their fallen comrade.
Nobody knew the exact answer to her question, but Po had a rough idea. He glanced to the side and found the vase at the feet of Crane. The top was still only half open, the words not glowing anymore. In fact, the powerful air was gone too, no trace of it left whatsoever.
"You have an idea?" Tigress asked, walking next to Po as she also gazed at the open artifact like it was devil himself.
"I may."
The tiger didn't know what to expect, so she found peace in watching Po visualize the thought. His hand reached out and pulled it closer to them. Then he raised the top swiftly, almost like he was afraid something would come out. Honestly, she did expect at least a little firework, yet nothing happened. Po, sharing his bewilderment, grabbed the handles of the vase, flipped it over and shook it.
Nothing.
"Empty? Where did all the chi go?" Po asked, bewildered.
"Maybe it was empty the whole time?" Tigress said, though her trial to help didn't work when it was obvious her suggestion was false.
"No, it had to go somewhere. Chi doesn't just disappear like that. I would know, I mastered it."
Viper's out of the blue voice alerted them.
"Guys, look at this!"
The two masters turned back to the half-circle gathered around Crane, and saw Mantis holding up his white right wing that suddenly had lines of black in it.
"Are those… burn marks?" Tigress asked, eyes narrowing.
"I wish they were." Mantis answered. "At least then I would know how to treat it."
"So what are they then?"
"I don't know, I'd need fingers to find out. So… lend me some?"
The tiger looked at Mantis weirdly, not appreciating the insect's trial at a joke in this situation (or any situation at all). Nevertheless, she complied.
"Could you get one for me? From the black parts, I mean."
"You want her to rip out a feather? Won't that wake him up?" Monkey asked, glancing at the sleeping avian's face.
"There is a difference between sleeping and being knocked out. Now you see-" the insect couldn't continue his lengthy explanation because a black feather was thrust into his sight. He followed the hand in which the feather was and saw Tigress' passive face looking down at him, the face that everyone knew meant the first stage of the tiger getting pissed off. Next would be snappy impatience, and no one needed that episode.
"Oh. I mean - thank you."
Mantis laid the feather on the ground, next to Crane, and examined it. He smoothed over the many barbs connected to the rachis, also known as the main shaft. His eyes jumped detail to detail, soaking in all the information, while comparing it to his general knowledge on birds, their plumage and the feathers themselves.
Upon finish, Mantis felt like that one time he tried to bargain with a mentally damaged sheep, and he verbalized the same response as he did then:
"…This makes no sense. What?"
"What makes no sense, Master Mantis?"
The insect in question turned to the voice, and realized it was from none other than Shifu, who has been giving him a cold look for some time. He didn't even complain about it, this kind of look is the least he deserved after partially causing this situation. Monkey had a hand in it too, at least in his opinion.
"The feather looks to be completely healthy, no deformities or any sign that something happened to it."
"And the color?"
"That's what makes no sense. It's like, it changed or something. Which, of course, doesn't happen, but ever since Chi being part of the equation, I don't know anymore."
Shifu narrowed his eyes at the insect, but kept silent. Instead, he used his staff to lift the wing in question and scrutinized the black marks.
"Master Po, could you get me the top?"
"The top of the vase?"
"Yes."
Within seconds, the red panda had the item in his hand. He showed the side with the upside-down word on it and then compared it with the black marks on the wing.
"Does anybody see something in common?"
The five masters looked between the two very different looking things.
"They are both black?" Monkey guessed.
"That is true. Now what happens if I turn it like… this."
It was like a glass has shattered in the minds. Now that the word wasn't upside down anymore, they could see another common trait; the black lines formed the word 'wind'.
"It seems that Elemental Chi has found residence within Master Crane."
The soft indigo sky was the last phase of the setting sun's ever-repeating journey. After that, it took on a glorious dark-blue filled with tiny spots of diamonds, each one representing a single, lost soul. It was said that when we die, we became these little gems embed into the sky's palette, and with that, we become a family. Brothers and Sisters, overlooked by the most important entity of the heavens, the Moon.
Speaking of Her Grace, her shining white beauty glowed through the windows, which, sadly, wasn't nearly enough for the people in Crane's spacious room. These people were Mantis and Viper, the assigned 'medical team' of the Furious Five, with Mantis being the doctor and Viper aiding him. They were in the works of trying to find a semi-comfortable way to lay down the comatose room owner in the gleam of paper lanterns.
"Put him on his right-side, his head on the pillow," Mantis instructed Viper, who had his lesser body wrapped around Crane.
"Like this?" She asked, reposing him with a careful, slow motion.
"Yeah, but beware of his wings. They can't be outstretched," Mantis said, trotting up to his friend's body. He folded Crane's right wing back, making sure to put it in a natural angle. Finding his work decently done, he slowly retracted his forelegs as he eyed the appendage.
Viper frowned. Mantis was oddly… careful. Never before has she seen him this cautious about things, his every movement always spoke of defined goals and precision, especially with first-aid. Now, he looked afraid to touch a single feather, much less the whole wing. She had a curious urge to make a note about it, but she bit her tongue; Igniting Mantis' ire wouldn't help anything.
"Could you fold his legs? All the way to his body, I mean," He asked, not removing his eyes from the sleeping form of his friend.
Viper obliged after uncurling from the bird. She used both her head and her tail to push those skinny legs forward, not stopping until they were resting in the confines of Crane's shadow. Finishing her work, she raised her head and smiled at how cute and awkward the avian looked in this fetalesque position.
Then her mood soured when those thin legs popped back outwards.
"Wha-"
"High blood-pressure," Mantis said, almost like he was chewing on his words.
That… did not help her understand, but she believed the doctor of the house. She tried again and almost gasped in offense when the legs stubbornly resisted being tucked in.
"No, no, no, no. They must go there," Mantis said, jumping in front of her and pushing in the legs himself, "They need to."
"But why?"
"Cranes and birds in general-" he began, struggling to somehow hook those damn appendages together, so maybe they would stop each other from popping out, "-have one of the worst heat balance, almost worse than reptiles'. It's especially annoying when they sleep, because the body loses its temperature on a basis, but cranes just don't care, they can probably get hypothermia by sleeping the wrong way. Their legs have an uncanny ability to let out the body's heat, so cranes have to sleep with one leg tucked in."
"That sounds… unnecessary complicated."
"Understatement of the dynasty." Mantis grunted, when one of his friend's talons kicked his face. "DAMNIT! We are already dancing on the frickin' border of giving birdbrain an askew spine, we don't need him to freeze to death too."
"Mantis…"
"And let's not talk about whatever this chi did with him. Who knows, maybe it has some healing abilities, and we are just wasting our time."
"Mantis."
"Or. Or, it does the exact opposite and by tomorrow morning, we can serve the village an exotic meal; Smoked crane with green peach salad!"
"Mantis!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
It's almost comic how easy it was for the tension-gripped air to suddenly manifest from absolute nothing between two people. The snake recoiled at the insect's outburst, burning scarlet eyes looking at her with slitted pupils. She felt the overpowering cold run through her lengthy body, and she felt scared; scared at being burned by those fiery red eyes, scared of saying something wrong that would prompt a violent reaction, scared of her friend. And to top it off; she couldn't even fight Mantis if push came to shove, not only because she did not have the heart or the courage for that, but because what good does her technique's moves do when he can easily fold her into a pretty little bow on top of a present? If it were Monkey or maybe even Tigress, she could have a chance; but not against Mantis.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice, curling her body tighter together.
Something changed in her eyes, and Mantis caught it.
"Gosh, I…" he struggled to say as he tiredly rubbed his face, "You ain't who should be the sorry one, Vi. I just… am worried."
Viper's head tilted slightly at the declaration.
"W-worried?"
Mantis just nodded, gazing at the sleeping face of Crane. The wrinkles around the bird's beak were a telltale sign if a nightmare, and Mantis had to close his eyes. He did not want to be reminded by Birdbrain either.
"You couldn't have known it would happen," Viper said under her breath.
Mantis just shrugged. "What's done is done. I just have to hope that Crane will be all right. For his sake, and mine too."
Suddenly, Crane's door opened sideways, and the imposing figure of Tigress stepped inside with Monkey and Po following her trail. The tiger held Mantis' acupuncture needles in her hands and an additional pillow, probably for Crane.
She also did not look happy.
"I still don't understand…" Po mumbled after flopping to the ground next to the entrance.
"We've talked about this." Tigress said, not looking at her conversation-partner. She effortlessly flicked the small rectangular pillow, and it plopped onto Crane's stressed face, obscuring it from everyone.
Mantis' eye caught onto the tired circles around the tiger's eyes, her tense posture, and her snappish attitude.
"What's up?" he asked, his eyes following the way she squatted down to put the needles before him.
"Po is heartbroken because we'll sleep in Crane's room, and he can't sleep in his bed," She answered, stepping over his sleeping friend.
"I mean, I'm all onboard with this 'showing our support in the Furious Five way' plan, really, but why couldn't we do that while comfortable?" the panda asked, his face set in clear grumpiness.
"You brought two blankets, that's more than we can say," Monkey said, sitting cross-legged next to Tigress, preparing for his pre-sleep meditation.
"Two blankets? Why?" Mantis asked, turning to Po. Said panda was trying to figure out how to distribute the two pieces of cloth on his large belly.
"It was really just one blanket," the panda said, laying on his back, "but after I mentioned the bed topic to Tigress, she kinda…"
"I'll get you a new one Po, now let Mantis work and sleep," she said, her voice overpowering anyone's thoughts of adding to this valueless conversation, "How is he?"
The identity of 'he' was obvious. "Birdbrain is still out, we just need to tuck his legs under him somehow."
Tigress raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"For reasons, but it's important and we have no clue how to keep them there," Mantis said, showcasing the problem by pushing in Crane's left feet, which bounced back up.
Viper in the meantime was eyeing Po's blankets, a thought bouncing in her mind and gathering merit.
"We need to keep the heat in, right?" she asked, turning to Mantis.
"That's the issue, yes."
"Then can't we just cover it up with a blanket?"
The air in the room stopped, the only sound coming from Crane's airy breaths and the low hums of the meditating Monkey. The rest slowly turned on the sleeping form of Po.
"That… works."
The only sign Po gave about his sudden decrease of possessed blankets was a series of incomprehensible mumblings.
"All right," Mantis began, after finding the blanket's newfound position on Crane's legs satisfactory, "Now for the hard part."
His small foreleg reached out for the first acupuncture needle. Shakily, he raised it while eyeing a particular part on the avian's back. He knew the spot very well - it was the beginning spot for every treatment of this nature, no matter how different the case was - he could have probably closed his eyes and thrown the piece of metal, and still hit a bullseye.
Yet now it was different.
His mind oh-so-helpfully supplied him a picture of that damned Bo staff, flying through the air and knocking over that damned plate. A bird-like figure, white feathers shining bright, flew above his head and caught the vase valiantly and dutifully. Then came the picture, hazy it may be, of Birdbrain on the ground, that damned black patch reflecting at him, looking at him, haunting him.
"V-viper, could you get me the scrolls about avian anatomy?" he asked, turning to his companion.
The snake tilted her head. "Okay…?"
"And the first volume of my medical studies too, if you could."
Now the snake blinked, out of the loop. "The basics?"
"Yeah."
"But…"
"I know, I know, I just… want to make sure."
Viper wasn't a fool, she knew that there was more to it.
"Allright." she said, slithering towards the door. Before leaving the room, she turned back; Monkey, Tigress, Po and Crane laid on the floor, amidst the embrace of slumber. Mantis was the only one awake, but his eyes were lightless. They told a story; a story of regret, a story of mistakes…
A story of sorry.
Viper sighed. This day was a mess.
Story Miscellaneous
#4:The Author can emphasize and relate to Crane's character, this may have be the reason for Story Miscellaneous #3
#5:The Author is an amateur writer, but considering his plans for this story, an ambitious one too.
#6:This Story will feature a total of 3 Original Characters that would have any impact on the story, one of the being the villain, and Lao Shu.
#6A:Asterisk for Story Miscellaneous #6: Sadly, Lao will only play a role in establishing Crane's character and his motivation, conflict.
But if you amazing people who read this decide that you guys would like him back, I can alter the climax in a way for the old goose to have a role.
Chapter 2 Miscellaneous
#1:The Author knows that the Urn of Whispering Warriors was destroyed by Po (again) in KFP3, but the Furious Five wasn't there to see it, so please, don't call me out one that.
#2:Wind is not an actual element in Chinese culture, it is thought of as too wild and uncontrollable. The Author decided to recognize this fact, but also dance on the border of reality by still including it, even if it is emphasized that it isn't part of the Five Elements.
#3:The scene with Mantis and Viper was only added in the second draft of Chapter 2. Viper's character arc was supposed to start there, but the Author recognized that his skills were lacking to alter the scene in a way, that would serve her planned character arc.
#3A:Asterisk for Chapter Miscellaneous #3:I apologize if I got the reason for crane sleeping habits wrong, I couldn't actually find a reason why they sleep upright, only the reason for why they sleep on one leg.