Several hours earlier...
Viper was having a really lousy day. She was covered in scratches from falling through the trees and their sharp branches, bruised from being thrown from the slab of rock when it finally hit the ground, almost certainly suffering from two dozen cracked ribs and overall incredibly lucky to be alive. Now she was dragging her own sore body through the muddy trench the slab had made as it slid across the ground, screaming Su's name. As they'd crashed through the treetops, the girl had suddenly disappeared from her side. Then she'd hit the ground and got knocked out for who knows how long. Then she'd woken up at twilight and realised that the worst had happened.
Despite her headache, she still remembered what had happened right before the crash. Po had been right beside them before their piece of rooftop broke in two and sent them flying in different directions. Po could be anywhere by now, but then again Viper was worried about Su more then anything, terrified in fact.
Speaking of anywhere, by now Viper had finally realised the name of these mountains. It had been nagging at her in the back of her mind, but she'd been too focused on the mission to pay attention. But these were none other than the Mystic Mountains, a place full of caves brimming with jade, the birthplace of the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom. She'd heard the story from Crane on the day they first met. On a visit to these very mountains, Master Oogway had discovered a lost mining village, where for reasons unknown he had been presented with the largest piece of uncut jade the world had ever seen. Naturally the humble Oogway felt unworthy of such a gift, and divided the stone amongst the villagers. What was left became the Jade Tortoise.
Now if only a villager would pop out and help her find Su or one of her allies.
Viper winced as her slow movement along the ground provoked her cracked ribs. Not only were Po and Su missing, but she had seen no sign of Master Boar, Po's father, or Su's parents since Ember had destroyed the prison. She caught a glimpse of what was left of the building through a gap between the trees and shuddered. "Su!" She called again. The only response was the leaves rustling in the wind.
Maybe it was her painful injuries messing with her head, but something seemed wrong with the forest, and it wasn't the vibrant moonlight. The only way she could describe it was that there were shadows placed where they didn't belong. There were literal black spots all over the ground. When she slithered over one, the ground felt wet, while the moonlit areas were dry as dust. "Did she do this, too?" Viper wondered out loud. Is she around here somewhere? If she didn't do this, then what did? Could this any worse?
Seemingly in answer to the last question, two normal-eyed soldiers emerged from the darkness. "Oh come on." She groaned.
The soldiers froze momentarily as they recognised the fugitive. They unsheathed their blades.
Summoning all the chi she could muster to hide how much pain she was in, Viper went into her stance. The soldiers stepped forward to attack, turning black as they stepped into one of the shadows.
All Viper's eyes caught was a black tendril curling around the left soldier's leg before he was dragged into the darkened ground in an explosion of black mist. Her breath caught in her throat, as did the other soldier's before a pure black arm with lethal looking claws shot out from the shadow and grabbed him by the waist. The demon's nightmare inducing head came next, then the shoulders. Like a Jiang Shi rising from the grave it pulled its entire body from the ground and snarled hatefully at its prey before slamming the soldier into the shadow it stood on. He too disappeared into the ground.
Barely believing what she was seeing, Viper started slithering backwards as quietly as she could, wanting more than anything to avoid the same fate. The creature must have already been aware of her presence however, for right after the soldier's demise it turned its head towards her. The black tendrils on its black flew at her like spears forged in the fires of hell.
It was like time had stood still, and for a moment Viper thought it actually had. But the branches of the trees were still swaying gently. Viper was still breathing painfully. Only the tendrils had frozen, inches from her face. Through the tendrils she saw the creature's eyes, half an inch wider as it stared at her. Viper held her breath as the tendrils moved again, but this time they were retreating as the creature turned away. It gripped a darkened tree with all four limbs, sank into the shadow and all was quiet again.
Viper wanted to believe she had imagined it. The pain was so intense it was giving her hallucinations. But Po had told her of a creature born of shadows. Just like this.
She heard the sound of a sword being drawn.
Hissing, Viper spun round, nearly crying out in agony as she did so. Luckily for her, it wasn't a soldier or a monster. Boar didn't look nearly as beat up as she did, and he held the short sword steady as he pointed it at her face. Then his eyes widened a little and he lowered the blade. "Flower girl?"
Viper breathed a sigh and relaxed. "I told you not to call me that."
Boar huffed. "Where are the Dragon Warrior and the girl?"
"We got separated. I've been looking for them for hours." Her strength wavered and she lowered her head.
Boar stepped forward and knelt down before her. "You're hurt."
Viper lay flat out on the ground, spent. "You have no idea. I think it's cracked ribs." She looked at her body and saw the tell-tale bruising.
Boar checked her over and gave the diagnosis. Many of her ribs were indeed cracked, but there were at least four broken. "It's a good thing I didn't lose our supplies. I know it hurts, but keep breathing normally." He started rummaging through the bag. "Qiang and the others are okay, by the way. I ordered them to hide in one of those old jade mines while I looked for you. Luckily we made it out before the entire building collapsed." He pulled out a bottle of a pain relief drug. "Speaking of which, what the hell happened?"
"Ember." Viper said. "She didn't like the Children of Nuwa's goons interfering, so she tore the place apart."
"Huh. Such an overreaction." Boar administered the drug and sat down beside her as they both waited for the effects to kick in. Suddenly he turned his head sharply. "She can do that?! Destroy a building the size of a small mountain?!"
Viper nodded. She didn't want to talk anymore. Boar glanced in what must be the direction of the prison and seemed to come to a decision. "I think it's best we don't sit out in the open. I'll get you back to the others and finish treating you."
He lifted Viper and draped her over his shoulder. She was too sore to resist. "But what about-"
"We'll look for your friends once the pain has eased. I'm not a complete jerk."
Viper didn't disagree. Boar carried her into the forest, and it felt like an eternity before they reached the mine he had mentioned, a square shaped opening in a tree covered hill. Qiang, dressed in black pants and a dirty green vest, was waiting for them at the entrance. His eyes widened. "Master Viper!" He rushed over to them and stared at Viper's bruises. "What happened to you? Where are Po and Su?"
"Keep your voice down!" Boar growled. "Not all the reinforcements were inside the prison when it collapsed, and the survivors are probably searching this forest right now!" He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again he was calmer. "Look, Master Viper needs medical attention. Let's get her inside, and she can explain everything."
Qiang looked terrified, but he nodded firmly and they quietly entered the tunnel.
Su was more than a little puzzled. Where did the trees go? What happened to Viper? Why had the world turned upside down?
She hadn't passed out, or at least she thought she hadn't. But one second she was on a flying rock, and the next she was in an upside down world with something clamped tight on her leg. Her arms were stuck up in the warm air.
She turned her head. Everything she saw was black and rocky. The rough stone was damp and shiny, and reflected the white light like jewels. She looked up. The ceiling wasn't very far away, and shone grey in the light.
Then she looked down.
"Crap crappity crap crap!"
She was looking up at a shaft of white moonlight shining down the circular stone pit, which illuminated the rope tangled around her leg. The other end of the rope was tied to some kind of wooden beam sticking out the side of the shaft. It was pretty high up. In fact the pit itself looked like it stretched at least a hundred feet. "Viper!" She cried out. "Missus Viper!" The only reply was her own voice echoing in the pit.
Su started feeling faint. She had almost died. If it weren't for this dirty bit of rope, she would have been killed. And she had no idea how to get down. She took several, shaky breaths. She mustn't panic. She mustn't panic. She needed to find Viper. "Viper!" Her head was feeling funny, but at least it didn't hurt like it did in that prison. Something about that pain had been different, she realised. It had felt less like something breaking, and more like a warning. Come to think of it, she had felt the pain right before the prison was destroyed.
The back of the weird looking red coat she'd found in the drawers of the room she'd been locked up in flopped and dangled past her head. If the Dragon Warrior Fan Club kids were here, they'd be killing themselves laughing right now. She twisted her body, trying to turn round and see if there was anything behind her, and she started swinging. Out the corner of her eye she saw a wooden ladder that seemed to go all the way up. She felt her coat slip down her arms, and grabbed the sleeve just as it fell of completely. It dangled beneath her, half the other sleeve dragging along the floor.
Su tilted her head. She wasn't too far from the ground. Maybe it wouldn't hurt too much if she simply freed herself and fell.
She looked at the rope tangled around her leg, took a deep breath and bent forward as far as she could. She didn't quite reach. She rested for a minute and tried again. She grabbed her ankle. "Yes!" though the rope was tight, she was able to find the end and unravelled the thick coils. The fall was so quick she didn't have time to cry out. She hit the ground and banged her elbow. She gasped and fought back tears as she sat up. She put her coat back on and looked around for a way out. Other than the ladder, there were two tunnels leading in opposite directions. Both were dark and reminded her of the old cupboard in her house, the one which she used to be afraid of. It had been weeks before her parents could convince her that the only things hiding in there were pots and pans. Su hoped Viper had found them.
Of course now she knew there were worse things than monsters hiding in your cupboards and under your beds, and the worst of them was the monster with the ruby red eyes. Su bit her lip and clenched her fists. She'd thought he was good and dead. He had he found her? She was different now from the person she'd used to be, in more ways than one. She'd tried so hard to behave like a good little girl. She'd tried to fit in. She did as she was told. She did everything she could to help. She'd slip up every now and again, like her stupid decision to follow the masters to the Himalayas, but other than that she'd always done her best to help the people around her, people like Oogway's protégée, like she'd failed to do so long ago.
And then Su realised her mistake. She'd helped the people around her too much. When in situations like the one in the Himalayas, kids were typically nowhere near as useful as Su had been, and so far as she knew the person she was once had been a saint. It must not have taken long for the red-eyed monster to work out that they were the same person.
And soon after, the Valley of Peace was attacked.
Su gave a tiny gasp and covered her mouth. For two months she had been held prisoner by those bad people calling themselves the Children of Nuwa, long enough for her to find out that they'd attacked the valley for the sole purpose of capturing the Dragon Warrior. One of their reasons was that he possessed the Hero's Chi.
The Hero's Chi the person she was once had created and given to Oogway.
If she'd only trusted her head and done what she should have done weeks ago. If she'd revealed that she was the one they really needed and left the valley, Shifu and the others probably wouldn't have gotten hurt or captured.
All alone in the dark pit, she began to cry. It was all her fault.
