Chapter Fourteen: Lucidity
Bubbles popped and spat in the rolling liquid, moistening the air in swirls of dawn steam. Crane stirred the foamy pot with a foot; wooden spoon heavy with rags. Task finished, he splashed some water to extinguish the fire. Fishing for the steaming rags, he rung them out, and slapped them on a clothesline slung between two stone lanterns. The action was very familiar, and he remembered: drying rags was once one of his janitorial duties. A melancholy smile formed on his beak. "Lee Da Academy Janitor" had been his first job—besides perhaps tending his family's rice fields.
That was over twenty years ago, now. Crane grew up fawning over Lee Da, admiring the stilt-legged buildings topping the marsh, hoping to one day learn Kung Fu there. Mother had hatched him in Floating Reed Village—a small, poor place, overshadowed by the prestigious academy that lie next to it. Hazy in his memory was a golden cat, face joyful and optimistic; strong behind her dark green tunic. Mei Ling. An old friend from an even older time.
Boiling water made a hissing sound as he poured the cauldron out. Hot metal singed his sensitive sole, and he hopped away, waving the appendage in morning air. Two-dozen wingspans below him, the venomous black Yangtze curled. Sage forest hugged the river's obsidian length: mysterious, secretive. At the sea, Gongmen City looked little more than a rocky outcropping behind the rising red sun. Without the tower, it wasn't so iconic. Crane shielded his eyes with his hat.
Brass-reinforced wood made up the octagon-shaped building on the archway. Crane stood in the shade, rubbing his burned foot on the cold, sunless soil. Fanning his wings, he appreciated the coolness of an early autumn breeze. The dirt courtyard yonder held the dusty remnant of a boat sail, dull red in the dried mud. Once a striking image of conquest, now a fading memory. On it, he had brought a close-to-death Lord Shen here. Crane sighed. He needed a plan.
Meticulous, he laid out the facts: Four weeks. Incoming Imperial soldiers. Angry Master Shifu. An angry trade conglomerate. An even angrier scarlet-robed demon, a Soothsayer, and finally, his secret patient. Some way to arrange these pieces should reveal a solution, he knew. Logic had never failed him, but logic told him one thing: tell the Masters.
There is no other way, he thought. He couldn't keep Lord Shen here forever. Sooner or later he'd have to tell them, and he was paralyzed by indecision. They might hate him for lying to them. Maybe the Five would break up over it. Contemplating that was nauseating. The Furious Five were who he was. Without them, he was nothing. And together, they were all that stood between China, and ruin.
I could just say I found him here, Crane thought. They wouldn't know he had lied to them. All he had to do was add another lie to his basket of deceit. It felt terrible to lie to his friends, but it did solve a lot of problems. Sometimes, the logical thing to do wasn't the right thing to do.
Lastly, there was the question of Lord Shen himself. The peacock seemed hurt in some way that Crane couldn't fix. Never speaking, it was always the same: blank face, dead stare, scream. It felt wrong, somehow, if Lord Shen's wits were lost forever. Like a bright candle flame snuffed mid-burn. Mental capacity was a terrible thing to lose, for anyone. Crane loosed a somber chuckle.
Great, now Lord Shen is affecting my philosophy.
He wanted Lord Shen to live. If stuck like this, maybe turning him in was the best option. Crane took a deep breath, and rounded the corner to enter the red-wooded building. Apprehension nipped at his ankles as he walked up the entryway. Fine bronze bangles on his skinny legs rattled a bit with his steps—a familiar and comforting percussion. Not ready to apprehend Lord Shen yet, he hung up his hat on the doorframe, and caressed the straw with a wing.
"You'll never know unless you try," he mumbled to himself. The golden cat's words. Mei Ling was the first person who ever believed in him. Even though he passed the entrance exam, he left Lee Da Academy, dropping out shortly after Mei Ling graduated. Studying there didn't earn him any money to support his family in Floating Reed Village, when times were lean. Like any of that mattered, in the end. He had hoped that things would someday change, and they did—
"Who are you, what do you want?" an accented voice spoke from across the room.
Instantly, Crane was torn back to reality. Feet clambering, he bunched his back against the door, and looked. His feathers stood on end. Lord Shen was looking right at him. His one good eye was devilish in intensity.
"You can talk!" Crane squawked, eyes watery from fear.
"Are you an idiot?" Lord Shen relaxed, and dropped his visage of danger, seemingly hurried to correct Crane.
"Of course I can talk," he looked away, "you didn't answer my question."
"Oh, uhhh… n-no, I'm not an idiot," Crane said.
Lord Shen scoffed. "The other question."
Crane fumbled around the doorframe, attempting to grab his hat without looking. It fell to the ground clumsily, and he rushed to put it on. All the while Lord Shen watched him behind a raised brow.
Crane tried to steady himself, unable to focus in his shocked state.
"Mmm, right, who am I… you know, funny story," Crane chuckled nervously, "I was just coming to check on you again after last night! People always have a hard time recognizing me, so no hard feelings, right? Anyway, I'll just be going now." Crane tried to exit before Shen could respond.
"Last night? I've never seen you before in my life."
I knew I was forgettable, but really? Crane thought. Halfway out the door, Shen caught his ear again.
"Kidnapping a Prince, eh? Should be a hefty ransom. Who do you work for? Apes? Jackals? Crows, perhaps? I've never seen a bird like you before; quite tall."
"Prince?" Crane cautiously stepped back into the paper-walled house, and shut the door.
"Prince Shen of Gongmen City." He held his head high as he announced himself, obviously proud of his lineage. Noticing Crane's skeptical eye, Prince Shen shook his bandaged head.
"Oh, did your employers not tell you? How many white peacocks do you think there are, bandit?"
"I didn't kidnap you!" Crane said, "I saved you from the river, a few days after you…"
Wait, does he not remember?
"DAYS? My, no wonder. Look at me! I'm hideous," Prince Shen said, inspecting his wrapped burns and damaged plumage.
"No no, you look great!" Crane said, accidentally.
Prince Shen gave him a suspicious leer. "…okay, thanks for that."
"I-I mean your wounds look better, auh," Crane rubbed his face in his wings to cool it down.
"What in the world has happened to me?" The Prince said, "my head, my feathers, my leg, and all these needles. And am I naked? Where is my robe!"
"No, just—mmmm." Crane couldn't think and trade banter with Shen at the same time. Beak wrapped in a feathery grip, he tried to make sense of the peacock's incongruous dialogue.
Prince Shen, he thought. Amnesia, it had to be. The cause was clear; Lord Shen had taken a blow to the head. Crane had to discover who Lord Shen thought he was.
You'll never know unless you try. Crane took a deep breath to still his heart, and set forward, confidence flagging. He walked at a measured pace—fibers from the plush rug felt good on his hurt foot.
"Well?" Shen said, then took a sharp breath. After a tight-chested moment, the air whistled slowly from his tiny little nares. Crane stopped in front of the mummified bird.
The peacock looked him over with a lazy eye. "My. Much taller up close."
Crane's throat constricted. Alive, awake, and speaking directly to him, was Lord Shen—Prince Shen? Crane could see the Prince taking shallow breaths and grabbing a gauze-wrapped burn.
"How do you feel?" Crane said, aware of the pain he must be in.
"Not great. Ah," Shen said, shifting his wing's position. He stared between his feet with a distant eye.
"I feel like a fifty-year-old man."
"You're… not?" Crane said, confused. Based on what he knew, Shen must be at least or even exceeding that age.
"What? Don't be ridiculous. I only turned eighteen last month."
"Eighteen?!" Crane exclaimed, mouth hanging agape.
"I suppose I am not in the most presentable shape," Prince Shen said, seemingly embarrassed.
"My body aches terribly." he said. "Would you stop staring at me like that? It's disturbing."
Crane closed his beak, at a loss for words.
"Wonderful." Shen said, rolling his eye back, "my savior, a doltish rice farmer."
"I am not doltish!" Crane said, grabbing his breast. He didn't know what the word meant, but it sounded like an insult. Shen chuckled at him.
"A rice farmer, then."
"…yes," he said, looking at the straw hat he had on. I have to figure this out, and fast.
"Tell me what you remember," Crane said, attentive.
Shen extended his wings' thin white feathers.
"One minute, it's alchemical studies, and the next, I wake up here, with you staring over me like a dewy-eyed child."
"That's it? You don't remember anything else?"
"My black powder recipe must've been stronger than I anticipated. My feathers…" Prince Shen dolefully inspected his body. He stroked his head.
"My crest, gone. My eye hurts, and I can't see clearly. Tell me—how burned is my train? Is it bad?"
"What's a train?" Crane asked.
"It's what a peacock calls his tail. Honestly."
"Oh, yeah. Your tail is gone."
Lord Shen shut his eye.
Crane's heart lurched against his will.
"…I'm sorry," he said.
"Well… thank you," the Price eyed Crane, and things got awkward.
"Fine," Shen cleared his throat, "I'm through dealing with you. Sort yourself, and find someone competent to return me to my palace."
"I can't!" Crane blurted, "that is, Gongmen City is far from here."
"What?"
"Yeah, you're just outside of…" his thoughts raced to find a decent lie. "Floating Reed Village."
"Floating Reed? By the Kung Fu Academy?"
"You know of it?"
"I excel in geographical studies." He said, haughtily. "I also know it is the most podunk, backwater town in China."
"Hey!" Crane said, irritated by the Prince's pretentiousness.
"Floating Reed is upriver from Gongmen City. Rivers flow toward the sea. It makes no sense." Shen said.
"I don't know, maybe it was magic, or," Crane gave a weak, acquiescing smile.
"Destiny," he said. Prince Shen gave him a look as if to say 'are you serious?'
"Uhh, but you're in no state to travel," Crane continued, "you will have to stay here with me for a few days… maybe longer."
"No, we leave at once." Shen tried to get up, but the effort was too much, and he fell back onto his pillow.
Panting, he looked towards the ceiling. "I can barely move."
"Your leg is broken."
"Thank you for letting me know." Shen waved a wing dismissively. Again, he cleared his throat, and looked towards Crane with a shifty eye.
"Does… anyone else know that I am here?"
Thinking for a moment, Crane noted the Prince's strange behavior.
"Just me," he lied. There was someone else who knew.
The Soothsayer.
"Well, then." Shen smoothed the front of his bandages, as if they were a robe. Promptly, he caught himself, and knit his primary feathers together.
"There is nothing more to do, is there?"
"I guess not," Crane answered.
"You never told me who you are."
"Crane," he said.
"Great. I don't care," Shen said, in that peculiar accent of his. The peacock faced forward with that annoyed stare, a clear indication of dismissal. Crane, very ready to leave, paced for the door.
"Till we meet again," Prince Shen said as he walked away. Crane tripped on the edge of the rug as he left. Back in the dawning world once more, Crane closed the door behind him. Eyes widening, Crane hung his wings at his sides, gulping heavy breaths of air.
"Woah," he said, unable to process what had just occurred. Lord Shen was awake! Shen had no idea what had happened, no memory of his attack on Gongmen City, and seemed to be missing a great deal more than that. Not even had he called himself Lord yet.
"Floating Reed Village? What was I thinking?" Crane mumbled to himself, hardly aware he had spoken at all. Lies, lies, lies. He wondered if that was all he was now: a liar. There didn't seem to be anything else he could do. It was a crushing weight that was all his own. Sooner or later, the dam had to break. But that day was yet to come.
Lord Shen, in his amnesic state, was full of inquisitiveness, innocence, and was almost… pleasant. Crane tried to puzzle through this new information, but no solution came. Turning Shen in now just felt… wrong. A spark flew into Crane, something impossible for logic to produce:
Hope.
Maybe there was something he could do, something to help Lord Shen be different. It was a long shot: risky, dangerous and foolish. It made no logical sense. Things might only get worse. But he had to try. Sometimes, the logical thing to do wasn't the right thing to do.
Unbalanced, Crane shot from the courtyard, leaving an expanding cloud of dust in his wake.
You'll never know unless you try.
"Bad. Again," Tigress said. Crane laid out in the stone backyard of The Broomstick Inn. Tall, tiered buildings boxed them in, stifling the wind. Feathered limbs splayed on the cold stone, Crane huffed, and pushed himself up. Arduously he assumed his fighting stance. The twilight sun emblazoned the rooftops; latent fire crept ever upwards as it set.
"I've never seen Tigress handle Crane so easy," Po said, louder than necessary, as he sat on a wood bench.
"Shh! Rude," Viper said, tapping Po's round belly with her pointy tail. Po shrugged and held his peace. Mantis laughed from atop Monkey's shoulder. Ignoring the heckling, Crane made for another strike. Clumsy and flat-footed, his wing was easily intercepted by Tigress' rock-hard paw. The tiger grappled him and sent him careening into the inn's wooden wall with a thump. Paws on her hips, she smirked, whiskers attentive.
Crane rubbed his head, wondering where his hat flew off to.
"I'm sorry, I just can't focus," he said, standing and folding his sore wings. He had been flying all day, searching for the demonic Scarlet Robe. Luck wasn't on his side, for he had seen no sign of it. Or, more logically, it was hiding from them.
"It's alright. That's enough for today." Tigress said. Though accommodating, Crane could sense her disappointment.
She looked at Po. "Dragon Warrior?"
"Ooh, yes." Po said, hopping up with glee. Crane saddled next to the other Five as Tigress and Po initiated their nightly spar.
Grunting, Crane found his hat and joined the others at the bench. He watched the two fighters begin, upset. There was Tigress, never one for words. Her stance was strong, unwavering and solid. By comparison, Po's stance was almost comic in appearance. He sharply contrasted her—or, rather, roundly contrasted her. Po had lost a bit of weight training at their level for a year, but even still, his girth was impressive.
All that generousness hid Po's truly kind nature. Still, not even he had all the answers. That stormy night at the The Cherry Blossom Inn, Po had tried to tell him something about Lord Shen. Something about choice, and destiny. Crane dug his beak in his feathered side, more anxious than itchy.
"What's wrong, Crane? Cat got your tongue?" Monkey said. From his shoulder, Mantis guffawed. Viper cracked a reluctant smile.
"Good one," Crane said blowing a tiny feather from his beak. He wished he had a tomato to lob at Monkey.
"But really, Crane," Viper said, "is something wrong?" Viper and Crane had shared another meal that day, but he had been so distracted by Lord Shen that he hardly enjoyed himself.
"No. Just thinking about stuff. I'm worried about that Scarlet Robe thing." There was no sign of it, or the Soothsayer. Maybe the old goat was hiding, too.
"I guess it is pretty spooky," Monkey said.
"No one's seen it since it attacked yesterday," Mantis added, "how many have gone missing this time?"
"Two," Viper said with a sad expression. "Both were aristocrats."
A furious war cry erupted from the sparring Masters, and Po lunged at Tigress. Although, he wasn't able to get close to her dancing form, at least yet.
"Footwork!" Mantis and Monkey called in unison. Then they pointed at each other: "Jinx!"
"The Trade Authority won't be happy about that," Crane said, "as if we could make them any angrier at us."
Viper adjusted her flowery headpieces. "We'll talk about it at the meeting tonight."
"I hate those meetings," Mantis said, "Ox and Shifu are always yelling at each other."
"I'll start yelling too if we can't find that thing," Monkey said, raising a cuffed hand.
"Give it time," Viper said, "I already found at least one helpful scroll in Gongmen Library. You should join me, Crane. I know how you like reading." She gave him a bright smile.
"I would like to," Crane said with a smile on his long beak, feeling better.
"Aww, Crane's first date," Mantis said.
"Mantis!" Crane said, but was interrupted by a yelp of surprise. Tigress had snuck behind Po with lightning speed, and with a sweep of his legs, lifted him above her patterned head with one arm.
"Heh, okay, Tigress, you got me," Po said with a chuckle, "you can put me down now—"
Tigress slammed Po into the stone tiles of the yard.
"Gently…" Po said, breathless.
"Encore!" Monkey clapped his hands. Unfazed, Po executed a rather spry kip-up, and readied himself once more. Tigress gave him a sly smirk, and faced her palms.
"Ready." The two met yet again, but Po was still unable to gain the upper hand.
"How'd she get so good?" Crane asked, studying her practiced movements.
"She did train twice as long as we ever did," Viper said, watching the pair with the same fire.
"Another ten years of training sounds crazy," Mantis said.
"I like training," Crane said, "excellence of self and all that."
"You're such a geek," Mantis said, "but yeah, you're right. I do like training with you guys. I couldn't imagine doing this alone. Like Tigress did before she gathered us all up."
"With only Shifu for company, no thanks," Monkey said.
"Yah!" Po called, releasing a torrential barrage of blows. Tigress blocked each one with her stone-hardened forearms, reading Po's attacks with dead accuracy. Though Po might've found Inner Peace, he still couldn't compete with Tigress one-on-one. The panda's power had grown swiftly over the past year. Maybe one day he would be able to match her.
Tigress found her opening, grabbed Po's paw, spun him like a dervish, and sent him bouncing toward the weed-lined stones. She straightened her red quipao and raised her head, breathing like she had only taken a light stroll.
"Awesome," Po said, shaking his head and standing up, unharmed.
"Anyone else?" Tigress said.
"No."
"Not me."
"I'm good," the other Five said.
She looked them over with a satisfied expression.
"Don't take too long." With that, Tigress opened the glowing yellow door to the tavern. Po sat next to them with a thump.
"Ahh. How great is this." He said with a relaxing stretch.
Crane glowered between his toes. To him, things were far from great.
"Heard you and Tigress talking last night," Mantis said.
"Really? What did you hear?" Po perked up, looking a little worried.
"Nothing. Just thought it was interesting," the bug smirked to Monkey. Po seemed relieved that they didn't press.
Crane scrunched his toes on the gritty stone, uninterested in the conversation at hand. As he had done all day, he thought about Lord Shen. Maybe he should be calling him 'Prince Shen.' It wasn't clear whether his memory would ever return, nor what the peacock still remembered. There were so many questions.
I could come clean right now, Crane thought. It felt as if this was his last chance to tell his friends. If he passed it up, then the choice would be made.
"Hey Crane, how about you and Viper?" Mantis said.
"Oh, uh, what?" Crane said, startled.
"Heard you ate lunch together again."
"Where did you even hear that?"
"The ways of gossip are as mysterious as they are illuminating," Mantis waved his claws like a cut-rate magician.
"I told him," Viper said, with a flowery laugh. "Silly."
"Look guys, I'm not really in the mood for your gossip," Crane said.
"Aw come on, Crane, you love gossip," Mantis said.
"It's callous. Just take it somewhere else." They gave him looks of dissatisfaction.
"Please?" He said.
"Alright, alright, hypocrite," Mantis said, directing Monkey to the inn's door.
"They were just trying to lighten things up," Viper said as the rambunctious duo disappeared into the inn.
"Well, it wasn't working." Crane answered, sour.
"What's gotten into you? You've been like this all week: moody."
"I've got plenty of reasons, where should I start?"
"I don't know, things have been pretty great for me lately," Po said.
"Great?" Crane said, "how could any of this be great?"
"Us, together. Safe. Ready to fight! Just like old times," he said, swinging a furred fist in the air.
"No matter what we do, we can't find The Scarlet Robe," Crane said, "even if we did, we have no idea how to stop it. Every day more people go missing!"
"Woah, Crane, it's alright," Po said.
"Yeah. We'll find a way to beat it. We always do," Viper said.
"I can't even find the Soothsayer! How hard could it be to find a little old lady?"
"Then we keep looking," Po said, "we can't just give up."
"I feel so useless," Crane said, "all I can do isn't enough."
"It is. You know it is." Viper said with a soothing smile. Crane reluctantly smiled back. Time felt as if it were running out. Looking to the panda, he made up his mind.
"Uhh, Po. Can I talk to you?"
"Sure thing, what's up?"
"Alone?"
Crane looked at Viper and kinked his neck, expression apologetic. Apparently understanding, she ducked her head and slithered away through the door. Flickering light fell gracefully on her tattooed back.
Po let out a very contented sigh, and stared at the few stars in the new night sky. Crane didn't know where to start. He had a lot to say, but still wasn't even sure if he should say it. Po interrupted his indecision.
"Some city, huh."
Crane joined him star gazing. "Quite a city." He said, grateful for a moment's more of idle talk.
"You seem happy here," Crane said.
"This place is great. Tons more to do than in the Valley." Po rested his paws atop one another.
"What about you? Are you happy here?"
"I dunno. That's a big question," Crane said. "I miss home sometimes."
Crane considered the Jade Palace his real home, but he could never forget Floating Reed Village. Things seemed a lot simpler back then, when all he had to do was care for himself, and his parents.
"Honestly, I miss my dad," Po said, adopting those pouty lips he often did when brooding. Crane secretly found it a little weird that Po's dad was a goose, but thought it rude to comment on it.
"He seemed very worried about you," Crane said, remembering the lengths Mr. Ping went through to make him comfortable, even going so far as to put together an extensive 'travel pack.' It would be nice to have someone care about him as much as that.
"Yeah. He was right to be worried. I understand that now."
"Lord Shen," Crane said on impulse.
"You're thinking about him too?" Po asked, green eyes as wide as jade saucers.
"Yeah, I… I've been thinking about him a lot, actually," Crane said. Anxiety crept in as he navigated his secrets, not sure what to reveal.
"Whew, you have no idea how good it is to hear that," Po said.
"What? Really?"
"Everyone else seems to have forgotten about him. Maybe we should, but I can't help it." Po said. Stars speckled his eyes as he faced the infinite sky.
"It's just… I'm so confused by him," Po said. "I stopped his boats. Me! I did that, Crane. Defeated him there, on the big one. I told him he could choose, that he could let go of the past, and he just said 'no.' I think he was guilty. Or, maybe he was just evil to the core. I don't know. Sorry for dumping this on you."
"No no, it's okay. I wanted to talk about him too."
"Hmm?"
"It was what you said, about giving him a chance," Crane said, cautious, "him of all people."
"Oh, right," Po said, "I've given it some thought. You want to know what I really think?"
Crane looked at him expectantly.
"I think that, no matter what they did, everyone deserves a chance to do good. To be good."
"Hmm," Crane pondered the philosophy, "everyone?"
"Everyone." Po's wide eyes indicated his sincerity.
"What if they could never make up for what they did? You can't let them continue to live free and happy."
"That doesn't matter," Po waved a paw. "The only thing that matters is what they choose to be at that moment. Like Lord Shen, even though he—"
Po cut himself off abruptly, and his mouth was left open for a few moments. Crane understood. Lord Shen had done some awful things. It was very like Po to look past those deeds and try to see good underneath. But Crane himself couldn't understand how he did.
Po gave a solemn smirk.
"It's just… Shifu told me, 'anything is possible when you have Inner Peace.' I don't know. I thought it was possible to change Lord Shen's mind, but I couldn't. What am I missing?"
Crane had no answer. In all honesty, Lord Shen's mind had changed. Just not in the way Po had expected. Po had hope, just like Crane.
"That might've been what Shifu meant, about inner peace." Po continued. "It's not about peace, it's about acceptance. Accepting what is, and who is."
"That might be the wisest thing I've ever heard you say, Po," Crane said, "even though I have no idea what it means."
Both shared in a hearty, cathartic laugh.
"Now I understand why you sulk so much," Po said, "it can be pretty enlightening."
"I don't sulk," Crane said, annoyed. "I think."
"Oh, uh, yeah, right. That's what I meant." From Po's belly came the distinct, familiar rumbling of an empty panda stomach.
"Oh, hah, hello to you too, convenient belly rumble."
"Talking to your gut, totally not weird," Crane said.
"It gets me," Po said, patting his fat, "C'mon. Let's wash up. I got Secret Ingredient Soup on the back burner."
With a hollow pat on Crane's back, Po departed into The Broomstick Inn. Crane raised a wing, wanting to beckon him back, to tell him what he had been hiding. His beak opened a bit, but as Po closed the door behind him, the choice was already made. Crane hung his wings and sighed, strung with guilt.
Even still, a resilience bolstered him. He felt a responsibility for his lies, and whatever the future held, he would do well by them. Despite everything, it was that small hope that carried him through. Crane only hoped that it would bring him the lucidity he wished he had.
A/N
This one took a lot longer to make than I expected! Turns out, pivotal character moments take a lot of effort to get right. I'm still not 100% on this, but I think I labored enough to cement the theme of this chapter. To think, this chapter was only going to be around 2,800 words at first.
Nevertheless, this is an important day for Crane. I spent a lot of time trying to nail Lord Shen's wittiness and charisma, if a younger version of such... The amnesic Shen plot was one of the ideas I had from the very early planning stages of this fic. There is a lot of drama to be had there. I hope I portrayed Prince Shen well-we all know he's never one to let a situation out of his control.
Oh Crane, it feels so bad to torture you so. He has a good heart. Hopefully his intentions pay off. There are a lot of things going on in Gongmen City, and Crane is at the center of all of them. Rest assured, he will have his lucidity...
