Ohyaho New York! Konnichi wa London! Konban wa Tokyo! CJzilla here, slamming out another lightning fast update. In this chapter, one word...: Jailbreak. Enjoy.
As I flatten this city, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: Love on me, hate on me... I don't care.
Jailbreak
It was in the middle of a cold prison night. Even the Chorh-Gom fortress seemed to tremble under the high winds and biting cold of the sudden mountain storm.
Inside, fires blazed on the higher areas of the prison, keeping the temperature manageable but not comfortable. Guards took frequent shifts, baring the cold as long as they could before coming in and huddling next to one of the many fires.
The guards watching the entrance to the impregnable prison shivered under their many layers of clothing. The bitter cold and snow flurries dulled their senses. One guard growled.
"I-I-I d-d-don-n-n't kn-kn-know h-h-how much longer I can stand here!" His breath made a cloud of warm moisture before being carried away by the wind.
The second guard held his spear and shield close, trying to retain a little more heat inside his icy cold body.
"O-o-one more m-minute." The rhino looked at his companion. "T-then we-we'll go i-in."
The guard growled, clinching his teeth tight to keep them from rattling.
As he took the last few moments of his scheduled shift to stare the storm right in the eye, one of the guards spotted something abnormal in an incoming snow flurry. A white and grey mass began to materialize and take the shape of flowing cloth and a person. The rhino blinked; sure that he was seeing things. Then he saw a flash of yellow from within the wind-blown snow.
Gripping his spear, he moved in the direction of the silhouette.
Snow blasted him in the face as he moved on. Then he came saw a big stone, shaped like a person's figure covered in snow.
"Boom. You're dead." Chuckling to himself, the rhino poked the stone with the tip of his spear.
"Hey!" The other guard hollered into the wind as he stepped into the warm prison. "Let's go! Our shift's over!"
Turning and dismissing his suspicions, the second guard moved toward the doors and to a warm fire.
"All right! All right!" He called back, seeing that the door was left open for him.
As he neared the door a blast of tremendous mountain wind blew and threw the cracked door open. In the guard stumbled, being pushed by the wind. The whirlwind of snow and cold doused the torches and fires. Several aggravated groans were heard from the cold guards as they scrambled to shut the door and relight the fires.
Lady Layla was in.
The guards were so blinded by the cold wind that they didn't even see her move in as the fires were extinguished. She hid in the dark, moving with the shadows easily avoiding the guards. Within a few yards and through a couple doors, Lady Layla came to an elevator. She couldn't have asked for better luck. The cold guards were changing shifts. While one pair came from the higher level, a second pair of shivering rhinos took the elevator up.
As the elevator was lowered and the guards looked away, the silvery vixen jumped after them. With the gentlest of touches, she grabbed the chain and dropped to the wooden elevator. Lady Layla listened to the guards above her talk to each other, unaware that an intruder was being lowered in the elevator. As it lowered, the vixen quietly loosened a bolt holding one side of the contraption. The elevator neared the ground and the vulpine warrior moved over the side, clinging to the outer wooden sides.
Lady Layla listened to the cold guards board the elevator. At the right moment, the vixen dropped off of the elevator and onto the stony walkway. She waited. Finally a sickening crack was heard as one chain of the elevator ruptured. As the guards were distracted by the busted elevator, Lady made her way toward the most secure area in the entire Chorh-Gom Prison.
Tai Lung heard the elevator break and the guards scramble to fix it. The event was unusual but to be expected. Everyday, at least a ton of guards used that elevator. It was only a matter of time before it busted.
It kept the snow leopard warrior's mind off of the cold. He was wide awake, the cold making it impossible to sleep. Tai Lung's shivering body slightly rattled the many chains strapped to his wrists and ankles. The turtle shell-like contraption on his back was ridiculously heavy and amplified the bitter cold.
Since his break out and his recapture Commander Vachir made Tai Lung's uncomfortable stay all the more aggravating. Little food, no covering and the constant jeering treatment increased the warrior's discomfort to almost unbearable levels.
Then Tai Lung heard something. It was the sound of a footfall on the stone. Raising his head, the snow leopard expected to see darkness. Instead he saw a feminine figure dressed in white standing in front of him.
She stood there for a long second, that white robe and striking yellow eyes making her look like a ghost. The female figure moved forward and knelt in front of him. Tai Lung thought she was a figment of his imagination brought on by the cold and hunger, but then he smelt a sweet musk from her body. She brought her hands up and cupped the snow leopard's face. Her hands were warm and soft. She ran her fingers over his head, tracing his face. Then she giggled.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Tai Lung." The woman's voice was husky, seductive.
The snow leopard found that he was looking intently into her eyes and his body leaning forward, craving her warmth. He then placed a name to the female.
"Layla?" The warrior's voice was raspy and hushed.
She giggled.
"The very same." Her yellow eyes met his golden ones.
Tai Lung couldn't believe it. The last time he saw Layla, she was a thin, unattractive and easily flustered girl. But now… Even though it was dark, the snow leopard could make out her womanly curves. He never imagined that he's see the vixen again, let alone inside the Chorh-Gom Prison.
"My poor Tai Lung." Layla then sighed, letting her hand touch his neck. "This is no way to treat a master warrior."
She stood and walked a pace away.
"I hope you're ready for freedom." Through the darkness, Tai Lung saw Layla's fox tail peek out of her robe as she pulled a fan from her cloak's sleeve.
Opening the simple paper fan, the vixen exhaled. With a lightning fast motion she swiped the chain on the snow leopard's left side. The chain was sliced and clattered to the ground with a loud sound. She did the same with his right wrist and legs. Tai Lung moved his feet and arms again but he still had that huge restraint on his back. Layla was just about to take a step toward him when their plan was exposed.
Guards, alerted by the chains falling to the ground, peered over the ledge and to Tai Lung's cell. As soon as their eyes came to the vixen the alarm was triggered.
"Intruder! There's an intruder on the bottom level!" The message was relayed throughout the entire prison.
Layla smiled and looked down at Tai Lung. Flicking her wrist, she exposed a small needle.
"Looks like we get to have some fun." The vixen grinned and went to work on the lock mechanism of the snow leopard's restraint.
As she was picking the lock, the guards readied their archers. As soon as they were set, the order to fire at will was given. A wall of arrows shot through the air toward the vixen and Tai Lung.
Hearing the arrows whistle through the air, Layla looked up. Moving the fabric of her cloak, she made the simple silk cloth into an impenetrable shield. Swatting the arrows out of the air, she defended herself and Tai Lung.
Tai Lung watched arrows fall to the ground like they weren't even fired. Then he heard the lock of his restraint give. The snow leopard flexed his muscles and the accursed weight fell from his shoulders. Without another moment, he felt Layla grab his hand and yank him toward the elevator.
They came to where the elevator should be, but it was safely raised over eight stories above their head. Tai Lung looked over to the vixen.
"You feel like flying?" He questioned in a business-like tone.
Layla gave a flirty chuckle as she closed her fan and gripped it tight.
Tai Lung laced his fingers together, making a step with his hands. Without hesitating Layla got a run at it and placed her foot in the snow leopard's hands. Tai Lung thrust the small vixen as hard as he could. Layla flew high above his head, easily busting through the floor of the elevator.
Once on top, Layla dispatched all the guards around the elevator. With a slice of her open fan, the main chain of the elevator busted. The detached wooden box fell. Giving the elevator's controls a kick, the now much lighter chain dropped down to Tai Lung. More guards poured in.
Tai Lung caught the chain in his hand and smiled. Wow. He and the vixen had the same thought process. Flying up the chain, he was that much closer to freedom. When he surfaced, Tai Lung saw the battered soldiers Layla left in her wake. The snow leopard took off down the clear pathway, determined not to let the fox have all the fun.
When Tai Lung finally caught up with Layla, she had just cleaned out one of the guard towers and was resting behind the small room's thick walls. As he crouched and crawled up to beside her, he felt an excited smile creep onto his face.
Layla was counting how many more guards were left when she felt warm breath on her neck. Thinking it was another guard, she whipped her fan around, aiming for the neck. Opening her eyes at the last second, she caught a flash of gleaming golden eyes and a sinister grin before her hand met something as unmovable as a wall. Tai Lung held her wrist in a vice-like grip with a cocky smirk on his face.
The two childhood friends stared each other down like strangers from the past. Layla broke the stare by grinning and snapping her fan closed.
"Easy Tai Lung." Her voice had changed from what he remembered; now she could make his insides melt rather than churn.
The snow leopard continued to let his eyes walk over her face before he realized he was still holding her wrist. He let out an eerily calm yet silky chuckle as he released her hand.
"It's been a long, long time Layla." Tai Lung smirked.
"We can catch up later." The vulpine returned.
Layla snapped her fan open, covered her nose and mouth and moved out from under the snow leopard. Bouncing out into the open, Layla held her fan in front of her face. Letting her beautiful yellow eyes peek over the fan, the vixen let loose a flirty giggle.
The guards were not swayed and neither was Commander Vachir. The brawny javan rhino's lip curled into a hateful scowl as he brought his battle axe from the floor.
"Tai Lung! It doesn't matter if you have help! The only way you'll leave here is in pieces!" He blasted into the air, pointing his weapon at Layla. "Fire!"
At their commander's command the guards pulled back their arms and let a volley of spears fly through the air. They were heading straight for the vixen. Layla merely jumped into the air and let the spears pass under her. As the spears pierced the ground her feet once stood on, she grabbed her other fan and spun, slowing her decent. Once the spear onslaught stopped, she dropped back onto the walkway. She landed delicately on one of the spears sticking out of the stone. Layla held her fan in front of her nose and mouth and taunted the rhinos with another giggle as she jumped to the floor.
Vachir's scowl deepened. Then he grabbed a dagger from his belt and hurled it at the vixen. It sped through the air, straight for her face. At the instant the blade struck, Layla's head jerk to the side. In that second, Chorh-Gom Prison went absolutely silent. But the vixen was still unharmed and very much alive. She turned her head, revealing to the guards and Commander Vachir that she caught the dagger between her teeth.
Layla threw her head back and laughed at the looks on the guards' faces. As she spat the dagger to the floor, she felt Tai Lung's body press against her back. Tossing a glance over her shoulder, Layla smiled at the snow leopard.
"Let's turn off the lights." She voiced flipping both of her fans in her hands.
The vixen jumped forward, spun and thrust her fans forward. A huge wind shot through the calm cave air and blew out the fires. Absolute darkness. As the rhinos floundered around, trying to fight and relight the fires, Layla and Tai Lung were dispatching them. After long seconds of blows landing there was silence.
The doors of Chorh-Gom Prison then opened and two warriors stepped out into the dark mountain night. The bitter wind and blowing snow did little to hinder the feeling of victory. Both snow leopard and fox sped off into the white storm, their paths carved out to the Valley of Peace.
R&R! LONG LIVE ROCK!