Chapter 2.
Spirit Bay
"...when shots have been fired,
and you've put on the necessary equipment.
Its nothing personal-it's only a matter of survival."
The Chinese boarder of Spirit Bay kept silent. It was the peaceful lull of midnight when two large ships approached. They emerged from a ghastly fog. A watchman hurried out over the docks to identify the vague outline of watercraft.
Something though rose up from the distance. It bared down and immediately stopped him where he stood. Thhwhomp!
Suddenly, he lost control of the warning bell in his wing and expelled it into the water. The goose padded around his chest and felt the long stock of an arrow. As he stumbled off the dock and fell into the sea, a masked warrior withdrew from the Japanese battle ship. She relieved her quiver of another arrow and studiously fired it upon the port lantern about two hundred feet away.
The bow of the second ship brushed up and stalled in the volcanic sand of Spirit Bay. Both crews boarded the dock and tied off their vessels. An unnerving haunt of moonlight hung over the eastern China sea. The western breeze brought a tinge of sea salt over them.
All together they were about 30 men-trained soldiers of a secret brotherhood known as The Lotus' Blade. A rogue syndicate who's very presence had been the subject of rumors and heresy. The evidence of thier existence however died in the possession of thier victims...until now. Tonight the ghosts walked among the living.
Just as the villanous leopard stepped onto the dock a calm set in and it left the sea as still as a glass plated-window. His fur was darker than night, he stood head and shoulders above them all. Respectively his brethren stood at attention as The Overlord passed by. A few of them held their breath as if the air itself coming off him was poisonous.
The skeletal mask of the female archer (Huntress) glistened in the moonlight. The insidious assassin toyed with one of her daggers. She flipped and rolled the double edged blade between her claws as he approached.
"What are your orders?" She inquired.
His lips curled slightly back into his teeth "Burn the city to the ground, but keep the residents alive."
The Huntress cocked her head to the side; a treacherous grin evident under her mask. At once she left; her and half his army. They came upon a squatter hill then spread out a considerable distance and climbed it's summit. On the other side was a gigantic crater-a volcanic crater left thousands of years ago. Hence the town deep in it's recesses was called Crater City.
It was at break of dawn when: He ran through the puddle of rain water, it soaked his pant leg and dirtied his shirt. The voices of Shifu and The Furious Five carried after him. The branches and shrubbery alienated the fox from their sight. He came across a footpath and merged onto it. He didn't know where it would lead him he didn't care, as long as it was far away from the Jade Palace.
It was hard to see past the tears, the burning tears. Maybe that was why he collided with someone on the trail. He fell back and landed in the mud hole he had avoided earlier. Immediately his arms went up, shook the mud off them and wiped the muck from his face.
At his feet he could see the figure-the mound of fur approaching him. Fox looked up, blinked a few times and spit the mud out of his mouth. The stranger had a cape or rather an apron which hung loosely around him.
The panda stopped, bent over slightly and braced his body weight "Sorry."
He took a moment to catch his breath, then pointed behind him and shook his head "Stairs. Gets me every time."
Po pulled the stranger to his feet "Sorry about that."
Master Fox stood there pointing; his mouth wide open "Yes. It is I, The Dragon Warrior."
Po panted as he bowed. His smile faded to concern. The swollen, tender eyes of the fox seem to go right through him-as if he could see to the other side. The panda sat down beside him. They looked beyond the footpath onto two peach trees. One of them (The Peach Tree of Wisdom) unfortunately was dead, withered and scorched by the sun. There was another one however a much younger peach tree, yes the very one Shifu planted the night of Master Oogway's passing.
Po rested his arms on his belly. He leaned back into the roots, dirt and grime of the hillside. A few moments passed by, and yet not a word came from the visitor. Po studied his face, but kept silent. The fox reached into his outer garment, into the inner breast pouch of his coat and held a talisman.
A low grumble came from Po's stomach, he padded his tummy. "You hungry?"
Fox's brow lifted as he turned slightly at The Dragon Warrior. "You know when I'm feeling down food always cheers me up."
Master Fox carefully wrapped the talisman in a handkerchief and put it away. He nodded and followed Po back to the Jade Palace. They made a short journey across the courtyard of The Jade Palace, no one was present it seemed. Po came upon two large wooden doors-solid oak doors which took quit a bit of wrestling to open.
This was The Lodging Chamber-an under glorified mansion where Po, The Furious Five and eventually Fox would occupy. There was a terrible squeak from the hinges which forced Fox to wince. Once inside Po propped the doors open with a punching bag. It was a little dark, even during midday the sunlight scarcely entered the building.
Partly because of its architectural position and partly because the windows were so high up and thin in profile. He laid his paw on one of the wooden pillars and quietly waited for Po. This place greatly differed from Master Zoran's Tai Chi and Kung Fu school. So much bigger. Grander.
The kitchen was surprisingly smaller than he anticipated, especially compared to the structure itself. He looked up at the rafters above him and for no apparent reason twirled around until his hip bumped the dinning table. Po reached into a cabinet and took the clay jar from inside it.
He removed the lid and placed it on the table "Here you go."
Fox sat down, thanked him, took a cookie and broke it into two pieces. "You don't say much do you?"
He swallowed and nervously avoided eye contact with Po "You probably want to wash up. There's a river just south if here, it's where we do our laundry. You're welcome to use it."
After they snacked Po led him to a closet, gave him a bar of soap and one towel "Breakfast should be in 2 hours."
As The Dragon Warrior handed him these things Fox smiled, he greatly appreciated Po's care and consideration. While Fox went down to the river he couldn't help but look forward to dinner, hopefully a nice meal would help ease his mind. About a stone throw away Shifu watched him leave, he was at a loss for words.
The Kung Fu Master sighed, he too mourned the loss of Zoran. Although encouragement wasn't his strong suit his empathy could feel the pain. He found it very hard to express himself, he regretted it-he loathed it. A stiff breeze rustled the leaves and blew over Shifu, it made his facial hair dance but his face remained unmovable.
He felt a familiar presence, the aura of Master Tigress as she stood beside him. On his way inside he touched Tigress' arm and smiled reassuringly. She didn't know how to respond. Deep down there were times like this when Tigress could see him surface as the father figure she wanted him to be but it was only for brief moments. In her arms was a hamper, a large basket of her dirty clothes.