Hey guys sorry I haven't updated, I had some writer's block and Finding Dory distracted me, so I was in fangirl mode all month of June. But I got my funk back plus I got KFP3 on DVD!
So this chapter is the one to finally start the real redemption ark. Shen will still be the stubborn asshole we all know and love but there will be signs of little changes here and there in the last days of his punishment.
So yay more filler and character development! Isn't that fun….? Right? Ah who cares, let get to the story enjoy everyone! Love ya!
Chapter 10: More Cleaning with a Kind Gesture
The next day Shen had to sweep again only this time he was accompanied by Crane. He didn't really mind the crane, he was quiet and he knew when to give the peacock some space. At least he was grateful that it wasn't the female tiger or the panda.
It was a really hot day and all of the windows of the Student barracks were open to let the cool air in. After Shen was done with sweeping he had to mop the floor so the dust won't collect again. They both strolled outside to a small pound not far from the building.
"So we still haven't found Gang," said Crane, "Tigress and Viper went to continue on the search."
Shen was only half paying attention; he smiled to himself to the fact none of the fools have not found the crow. He filled the wooden bucket with water and tried to carry it back, but it was much heavier than he thought. He never allowed himself to carry heavy things, physical strength wasn't one of his best.
"Here I got it," said Crane who held out his wing for the bucket.
"No, I'm fine!" Shen said quickly not wanting to look weak.
"Relax its no big deal" Crane insisted, "I've carried heavier buckets before."
The peacock only stared at him until he finally gave up and shove it to the bird, "Fine, I didn't want to lift it anyway."
Crane almost trip by the weight of the bucket, he carried it back with his feet and flew ahead.
For almost an hour Shen cleaned all the hallways with the mop while Crane watched him and talked to him. Of course, there was nothing much for the two birds to talk about, most of the conversation was a mere two sentences. It was then Shen noticed the bird was smiling; Crane was actually smiling to him. He didn't know why but it was starting to annoy the peacock.
"What?" he said.
"Nothing," said Crane simpering to himself, "It's just, this kind of reminds me of the time when I was at the academy."
"Academy?"
"Yeah, I wasn't a student over there just a janitor. A friend of mine would talk to me while I cleaned," Crane explained remembering his experience, "But I really wanted to learn kung fu than just clean."
Shen's crest features twitched, knowing what the crane was talking about. He already knows the story from the stolen scroll. He knows everyone's backstory, but he decided at least to try pretending he was listening.
"She actually convinced me to try out for trials. But I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Why is that?" asked Shen with a deadpanned tone, expressing how little he cared.
"I always thought I was too skinny to do anything. I was even laughed at by everyone, even the teacher didn't think I could do it." Crane chuckled awkwardly at the bad memory.
That was when Shen stopped mopping. He didn't remember reading that in the scrolls. It was mostly vague on details and all it said was Crane learn confidence while being a janitor at a kung fu academy. He turned around with some interest on his face, maybe wanting to know how the bird got back at those who laughed at him.
"What happened then?" he finally asked.
"I accidentally went in the area without realizing it. I tried to get out but then I felt some kind of motivation to keep going till I got the red flag. I found my confidence that day, and I started to learn kung fu."
Crane let the corners of his beak forum into a confident smile, remembering how much he made himself proud on that day. Because of his efforts, he transferred to another academy as a student but didn't mind helping out without the chores. Now that he thought about it, if he wasn't cleaning that day he wouldn't have met Tigress. He blinked out of train of thought once he saw Shen was looking at him.
"Oh eh, sorry," he blurted out starching the back of his neck, "I just went on rambling my life story. You probably didn't care…"
He was right, Shen didn't really care but he at least he listened to the crane's story. He knew what it was like to be humiliated.
"No it's, quite alright…" was all he said.
The peacock was soon done with the hallways and the two birds headed towards the kitchen.
"I can't believe I have to do this" the lord completed having to drag the bucket along. He didn't want to ask Crane help twice that would be embarrassing. With all his might he tried to carry it but mostly drag it. Crane had to turn away to not laugh at the struggling peacock, he'll help him once Shen was out of breath.
"Cleaning it's not that bad. I do it all the time," said Crane.
Shen looked at the bird-like he was crazy, "You mean you still clean up around here?"
"Yeah."
"Why? You are a master, there is no need to be doing the chores of a peasant."
"So?" Crane shrugged his shoulders, "That doesn't make me more important and I really don't mind. It makes me feel, humble."
The peacock rolled his eyes, thinking how could cleaning up would be humble. A chore is a chore, nothing else. Still, he was modest enough to Crane and even talk to him while cleaning even if they had nothing in common. Was he being humble then?
Shen convinces himself that wasn't the case. He was just bored out of his mind was all, it not like he can go to his lab or bark orders to his long-gone army.
The two birds came to a halt when they saw Monkey and Mantis doing something.
Monkey turned around and saw them, "Oh hey guys, can we borrow the bucket ?"
Shen raised a brow, "Why?"
"You'll see," was all Monkey said snickering to himself while he took the bucket and headed to the kitchen. Crane and Shen couldn't see what he was doing in there but he came back to help Mantis pull the rope.
"What you guys doing?" asked Crane not getting what they were trying to accomplish.
"Oh, here he comes! Back up" whispered Mantis as he, Monkey and Crane hid in an empty room while holding the rope. Shen also went into hiding, wanting to know what this is about. All four of them peek out to see Po walking down the hall but stopped in front of the kitchen. Shen twitches his head to the side wondering what the panda was looking at.
"Sweet! Cookies!" Po cried but shushed himself, making sure no one was around. Then he dashed in the kitchen.
"Now," Monkey and Mantis let go of the rope and a crash was heard in the kitchen.
"AHH!" Po ran out, his fur all wet and a bucket covering his head.
The two pranksters laughed out loud.
"That what you get for stealing my almond cookies!" cried out Monkey still laughing like a crazy monkey.
"Monkey! You're gonna pay for this buddy!" Po cried while struggling to free his head, "As soon as I get this thing off!"
He heard Monkey and Mantis took off still laughing, he tried to go after them but he couldn't see through the bucket and mostly ran into walls in going in circles. He almost hit the two birds but they jumped back and watch the panda going down the hallway.
"I will admit that was amusing," Shen said with a smirk.
Crane groaned to himself, "I'll be right back." He then flew off to keep up with the three.
"Guys slow down. You're gonna break something."
The peacock just shook his head disappointedly. As funny as the prank as he couldn't believe how not only the panda but also two other masters can act like such children. At least Crane was mature to have a decent conversation. His crest twitched by a sound that comes from outside. It sounded like someone was walking through the tall grass. He walked to the nearest open window and looks around to find the source.
"Hello? Anyone?"
He heard him. Shen finally spotted movement and called out the person before anyone else notices him.
"You, over here," said Shen.
As the person got closer, Shen could see the kind of animal he was. A lizard, very small for anyone to not see him in the grass; he was all green with a long tail and was wearing just a regular robe that covered most of his legs.
"Hey um… are you Lord Shen the crow was telling me about?" asked the lizard, "I'm here to pick up a letter."
"Yes, I am. Hold on."
Shen made sure no one was around and quickly rushed to his room to grab his letter. He then came back and showed his letter for the lizard to have. He was expecting him to climb up and grab it but the lizard used his long tongue to snatched the paper out of the peacock's wing. Shen was kind of grossed out and wiped his wing on the hateful robe he was wearing.
The lizard took out his mouth to speak, "I'll bring this to the blacksmith. Have the prints ready in two weeks right?"
"Yes," said the warlord, "Now go before someone sees you."
"Yeah yeah, see you in two weeks," said the lizard as he got on all fours and took off. Shen watched him disappeared in the tall grass before closing the window.
Later that day Tigress and Viper returned with nothing to report. They joined up with the boys to start training, while Shen finished up with his last chore close by. He used a knife to sharpen the bamboo sticks as tools or practice weapons and for the thick ones he had to cut them open and collect sugar for food storage.
Shen let his mind wander on his plans, thinking of any new ideas to create. Maybe he could conduct a new powder for his weapons, but he didn't have the proper tools to do that. Of course, Shen knows he still needs to build a weapon first before he could do anything else. But he was stuck, building a cannon took weeks to make one and it took Shen thirty-years to make dozens. He needed to brainstorm a weapon that could be created in a day, small but can still hold powerful chemicals that will burn everything and easily portable.
That was when the inspiration hit him and now he has an idea.
Once he was finally done with his task he only headed to his room, closed the door and took out his paper and paint. He used a thin paintbrush to design his new weapons. He drew a cannon but on a smaller scale in the shape of a tube with a dragon's head. He wrote down notes on material he needed such as metal and bronze. He even calculated the amount of gunpowder to use and wrote down some that be also be good use like powder that could blind the enemies or even poising them.
Shen went on to a new paper and drew what he could do with the bamboo sticks. His idea was to use the sticks to carry gunpowder that can create a fiery blast close range and far distance. This was not as good as his cannons but it was a start on something very new.
"Perfect" Shen thought to himself, "This is exactly what I need. If I can do this carefully, all of this could be tested and done within a month than years. And with the crow's assistant, I will have a better army and catch all of those fools by surprise."
The peacock could just imagine the look on their faces once he burns down their whole valley. He covered his beak to stop himself from laughing. He didn't want anyone to hear him but he couldn't help it, it was something worth laughing about. So far everything was going very well, he just needs to make sure these new weapons will function properly. It was fine that he didn't have the equipment to do it right now; in time he will have his chance.
Throughout the night Shen continued writing down notes and painted new designs. He was so glad tomorrow will be the last day of his punishment, and then he could be in his room all the time.
A knock from his door woke him up.
Shen opened his eyes and blinked a few time to get the sleepiness out of his eyes. He sat with paper stuck to his face. He pulled the paper off of him and looked to see all of his notes. He must have stayed up and fallen asleep while writing, he rubbed his head not remembering being drowsy last night.
He heard the knocking again and heard the grandmaster calling for him to come out. Shen started at the door and turned back to his notes.
"Give me a moment" Shen called out, gathering all his stuff quickly and quietly hid them under his bed. He quickly changed his clothes to another robe and walked to the sliding door. He saw Master Shifu standing with his arm folded behind his back with a staff in hand.
"Ah, good morning Lord Shen," said the grandmaster, " I was wondering when you would wake up."
"I apologize I must have overslept," Shen lied.
"No need for apologies," said Shifu, "As long as you're well-rested and ready to start your last task."
He was ready to get over with already.
"I'll have Po to watch you over today."
Shen filched with wide eyes. He wasn't sure if heard that last part correctly but standing not far from the two was the round black and white bear waving to the peacock with a sheepish grin.
"Hey."
"Oh, gods no!" Shen was screaming in his head.
"Why him!? What about the other masters?"
"They left early to find Gang," explained Shifu, "You two are stuck together for today. Now your last task for today is clean all of the rooms, that's shouldn't be too hard."
Shen turned away not wanting to look at Shifu's knowing stare and smile.
"Po, you know what to do."
"Yes Master Shifu." The panda gave a salute to his teacher.
"When I come back I better not find you two fighting" the red panda warned.
"Don't worry, we'll stay on our good side. Right, Shen?"
Po turned but immediately frowned when She gave him the death glare, he looked down and muttered 'nevermind' under his breath.
"All right" Shifu smiled, "If you need me I'll be at the palace reading reports."
The peacock and the panda watched the master left. As soon he turned to the corner of the wall he was out of sight. Po went to make sure and turned back to Shen.
"Okay, He's gone. Let's do this."
"W-what?" the peacock was confused.
"I'm gonna help you out," said Po, "I'll take Monkey and Tigress's room."
"Why?" Shen asked. He saw no reason why the panda should be assisting him, he was supposed to watch him.
"Oh, I know Tigress likes her room to be very neat so I thought-"
"No not that" Shen sighed annoying, "I mean why are you helping me?"
"Oh."
Po just stood there looked down at his paws.
"Um…I know you don't like me very much, for reasons. And probably don't want to spend the rest of the day with me, so if I help you get this done faster, you can have the rest of the day for yourself."
The panda then smiled, "Besides, I think you've been punished enough."
And he was being honest, Po knows he can't change what happened with the crows, but he can still change Shen's ways. He wanted to follow his father's advice and give the peacock some space. Maybe then Shen would grow adjusted more to this place and the people around him.
Shen was astonished by what the panda said. Po was kind enough to not push him to his limit. Shen tried not to think about it too much while he was cleaning one of the rooms. But he had to wonder why this panda wouldn't just give up, clearly, he should know him by now. Yet he still showed kindness, despite the fact he didn't really deserve it. Shen even thought about asking him that but as the stubborn bird he was, he would not allow himself to give in. It was like he was afraid to ask.
After cleaning one room he saw Po coming out of Monkey's room with a stuff face and cookie crumbs all over his mouth. The panda froze, wide eye expression as the peacock stared at him with bewilderment. He cleaned his face with a swift of his arm.
"Don't tell Monkey," Po quickly said and dashed off to the next room before things got any more awkward.
The very last room was Po's and it was the same as before.
"Honestly how can you live like this?" said Shen who was obviously disgusted.
"Hey before you judge, I just sometimes forget to put my stuff away."
"That sounds more like an excuse. Aren't you suppose to be the great Dragon Warrior?" the peacock taunted him.
"I didn't say I was perfect, now are we gonna do this or not?" Po said folding his arms.
Shen sighed, "Fine."
The two cleaned and organized the room with Po staking all the bowls and taking them to the kitchen while Shen used a broom to sweep all the clothes in one pile. He wouldn't dare touch them. Finally, Po put all his toys and equipment away, he stopped when he spotted something on the ground.
"Aw sweet, I've been looking for this."
He picked up a scroll and unrolled it to see inside. Po then hung up the scroll on to his wall looking at it with a beaming smile. It was a portrait of him and his friends from the winter festival. He glanced to see Shen staring at the portrait.
"That was from the winter festival," said Po, "All of us were helping dad served food to everyone who came to visit the noodle shop. Even the kung fu masters came to visit, it was like the best day ever."
The warlord bird was very familiar with the winter festival. He remembered going to many events with the Soothsayer. But they stopped when his sickness got much worse during the winter. So every year he would stay indoors and look out, seeing the fireworks show his parents put together. That was his mother's idea, to put his favorite colors out during the show for only him to see. Remembering that just made Shen feel numb than happy.
"Alright, looks like we're done here" cheered Po but turned to see Shen leaving to his room.
"Hey wait."
Shen stopped. He didn't turn his head but his brows narrowed, annoyed and wondering what the panda wanted now.
"If you, like need anything I'll be by the peach tree meditating okay."
"Was that it?" the peacock thought than saying it out aloud. Normally the panda would want to take him somewhere but no, he was giving him space as he promised, and for some strange reason Shen felt appreciative that.
"Panda."
Po almost trip when he heard the peacock. He was getting used to being called out by the nickname.
"Y-yeah?"
Shen had no clue why he was he was doing this, he didn't want to make a fool of himself. Closing his eyes he worded his next sentence carefully.
"I appreciate your assistance despite having no reason to do so."
It was done, he didn't want to say anything else. He was about to go inside his room until he heard Po.
"Wait, was that a thank you?"
There was shock and wonderment in the panda's voice. That wasn't the kind of sound Shen did not want to hear. He had to correct this.
"No it's not," he said turning his body to face the panda with a daggering glare, " I said I was-"
"No no, I know what you said, that was a thank you," Po beaming smile was wider than unusual. His eyes were also beaming.
Shen was getting pissed off, he knew he shouldn't have said anything.
"No, it was not!"
"Yes it was, it counts."
"It does not!"
"Dude, it so does!"
Shen had enough of this childish matter.
"You're wrong! I didn't say thank you!"
"You just did! Just right now!"
The peacock froze. Flustered, he tried to say something back but couldn't come up with anything. His feathers including his fan twitched, the pupils of his eyes shrunk and his face puffed out in anger. Shen let out a growl and slammed the door, leaving Po in the hallway. He came back out in seconds.
"I hate you!" and then he went back to his room.
Po did not care what he said. Shen said thank you to him and Po didn't had to do much to get him to say that. The cheerful bear threw his fist air whispering 'yes' as he walked out to outside.
As for Shen, he was upset that he let himself walked into that one. The peacock covered his face, rubbing his temple in frustration. He has been stuck in this godforsaken palace for a month and three days and the stress is now getting to him. He has to stay calm down. So he made one little mistake, he would not make another one. But that image, the panda's stupid grin was never leaving his mind.
Even when he was trying to be respectful, that panda still manages to get on Shen's case.
All right done with ch 10! I hit the 10th mark! So yeah, I had to look up what other weapons China made with gunpowder and something that could image Shen building than cannons. I found some articles on firearms and other neat stuff. I think they also made earlier designs of rockets, I don't really remember.
I also want to mention that I made a few headcanons with short films so they would connect better and together with the films. As much as I like 'secrets of the scroll' I still have a few problems with it. You don't have to agree to them I'm just pointing that out.
Also, Shen said a kind thing to Po aww, but he will forever deny it. CX
