Chapter Four- Battle Plans
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
Pause.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
Pause.
"Are we there yet?"
"If you ask me that one more time I'm going to tear your ears off and shove them into your mouth!"
Po cringed at Shifu's outburst. The Mongolian Fist Demon patted his arm sympathetically.
"Does he always do this?" Chao whispered.
"When he's bored." Shifu rubbed his temples. "And that's often when we go on long trips."
"Not to flare your temper, but Po has a point." Song said. "How much farther?"
"Ling and Lily should be back any time now." Shifu assured. "They'll tell us the best place to make camp. For now, I suppose we can rest." Everyone stopped and sighed in exhaustion.
"I've never traveled this far in my life!" Fun whined.
"What about the time with-" Fung punched Gahri to make him stop talking. Shifu rolled his eyes and walked a little ways away from the group. He climbed onto a rock and sat in a lotus position. He tried meditating, but there was a cold feeling on his chest that wouldn't subside. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, it seemed like it got colder. Finally, Shifu reached into his collar and grasped the golden locket. He was tempted to open it, to see what was inside. But it didn't feel like the right time. Or did it?
Shifu sighed. He tucked the locket away and tried meditating again. But, as he sank deeper into his mediation, a vision came to him. He saw two Chinese dragons, one white and one black, fighting fiercely in the sky. The smell of blood was right below him. But before he could look down, the white dragon suddenly came hurdling towards him.
Shifu's eyes snapped open and he gasped. It was only a vision. He reminded himself. Nothing more.
Right?
Then, Shifu felt a set of claws on his shoulder. He whipped around with a punch, only to have it blocked by Chao. The lizard master stared.
"Something wrong?" Chao asked. Shifu relaxed and composed himself.
"No." Shifu shook his head. "Just…waiting for Lily and Ling."
"You don't have to wait long." Chao nodded in front of them. Shifu turned and saw two black cats running towards them. Shifu stood up as the twins skidded to a halt right in front of the masters.
"We found the perfect place to make camp." Ling said. "An old abandoned village just a mile from here."
"Very good." Chao said. He turned to the army. "Let's move out!" Everyone groaned inwardly, but stood and followed Ling and Lily to the abandoned village. When they arrived, however, everyone couldn't help but stare.
The village was completely destroyed. The houses were nothing but charred remains, hardly able to stand. A mixture of different footprints littered the ground. A few discarded weapons lay here and there. The dirt and ash mixed together. Scarce embers still glowed.
"What happened here?" Viper whispered.
"Jiao-long, no doubt." Lily said. "This fire had to have happened no more than two days ago."
"Poor souls." Shifu said softly. "Let's hope most were able to escape." He turned to the army. "We make camp here. Set up the tents. Find some firewood that isn't already burnt. We will discuss the battle plans tonight. Song, I need you to organize watch guards in case Jiao-long sends spies."
"On it." Song bowed.
Everyone began setting up. Tents rose and sleeping quarters were organized. Everyone set down stones in a circle to create a main bonfire and circled the tents around it. Chao and Shifu got their tent up first and walked in to work.
"Well, this is fun, huh?" Po said as he and the Five set up their tent. "A new adventure, some new bad guys to beat up, new awesomeness to show off!"
"This isn't a game, Po." Tigress said. "It's practically a war."
"People could seriously get hurt." Viper added.
"If something goes wrong, the consequences are going to be way more disastrous that normal." Mantis piped up.
"Oh, right." Po said solemnly. "Sorry, guys. I've never been in such a big battle like this."
"It's ok, Po." Monkey assured.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how nervous we were for our first battle like this." Crane encouraged.
"You're not alone." Po smiled. Then, something tapped his foot. He looked down and saw the Mongolian Fist Demon. "What's up little buddy?" The Mongolian Fist Demon made motions towards his mouth. "Oh, you're hungry?" The demon nodded. "Ok, let's get you some chow." He scooped up the little blue creature and walked off to find food. He walked around for a while before arriving at the food storage. The Mongolian Fist Demon did a cannon ball into the apple basket and started eating. One lone apple started rolling away.
"Stay out of trouble." Po told the demon. The blue creature gave a thumbs-up and kept eating. Po followed the apple into the forest nearby and found the apple. He picked it up and started eating.
Whoosh
Po spun around. He looked all around, searching for the source of the sound. But it was quiet, so Po kept eating. He turned to walk back to camp.
Snap
Po spun around once more. He knew he heard something then. The panda dropped his apple and took a kung fu stance. He looked all around. The trees loomed over him and blocked the sunlight, casting ominous shadows.
"Po!"
Po jumped three feet in the air and turned to see who had scared him. It was Song.
"Come on!" Song urged. "We're discussing the battle plan for tonight!" She took Po's paw and dragged him back to camp. Po's dropped apple lay on the ground for a little while longer before a shadowy hand snatched it up.
Back at camp, everyone gathered around the bonfire. Shifu and Chao sat at the head of the fire. Everyone else was listening.
"Glad you two could join us." Shifu said as Song and Po ran up. Once they had sat down, Shifu continued talking. "So, as you all know, we are attacking tonight." He leaned over the map of Jiao-long's base, as drawn by Ling and Lily. Shifu and Chao's writing was scribbled over it.
Shifu began the strategy. "Chao, Lily, Ling, Song, and I will sneak into the base behind the guards. We'll take out any archers or weaponry that may interfere. Lily and Ling will open the main doors to let you all in. You all need to fight hard; take out as much of Jiao-long's army as possible. Chao, Song, and I will find Jiao-long and take him out. We'll also find the Siren's Gem and destroy it."
"Destroy it?" Peng asked. "Why not keep it? Something with that much power could be useful."
"If it's possible, we'll try to save it and bring it back." Chao explained. "But something with this much power could fall into the wrong hands far too easily. Perhaps the Siren's Gem is better off destroyed."
"Once we've taken out Jiao-long and the Siren's Gem, we'll meet up with the rest of you." Shifu continued. "We'll defeat the rest of Jiao-long's army and bring them to justice. That's our plan, any questions?"
"What if something goes wrong?" Po asked. "Not that anything will go wrong, but I've just got a funny feeling."
"It's called pre-battle jitters." Monkey nudged him.
"Nonetheless, Po is right." Shifu said. "If anything goes wrong, we will relay the information to you through Lily, Ling, or Song. Pay close attention, it could be a retreat, or simply a change in plans." Everyone nodded in understanding. "Good. We move out after sunset. Wait for Chao and my signal." Shifu stood, rolled up the battle plans, and he and Chao walked back into their tents. Everyone else dispersed and prepared for battle.
Through the forest, at Jiao-long's base, said Komodo dragon was posing for a portrait. A guard rushed in.
"My lord, everything is ready." The guard, a gorilla, said hurriedly. "Are you sure this'll work?"
"Of course." Jiao-long said. "I'm sure Chao will attack tonight with his army. You and the rest of the men can hold them off until I get there."
"What will you be doing, again?" the gorilla guard asked nervously. "I-if I may a-ask, sir…."
"Of course." Jiao-long said. "I need someone to relay my plans to besides my personal artist.
"Finished, sir." The artist, a bunny, said. She held up the painting.
"Perfect!" Jiao-long said. He took the painting and hung it up. "You see, my guess is that Chao will come here to confront me. If he's fighting with the Jade Palace, Grandmaster Shifu will be with him. I can kill them both and they'll be out of my hair." Jiao-long ran his claws over his head. "Or, scales, rather; anyhow, once they are gone, I will unleash my weapon, powered by the Siren's Gem!" Jiao-long chuckled darkly. "And then, I will take China, burn her, and recreate her in my image!" Jiao-long laughed maniacally, until he realized the artist and gorilla guard were still there. "What are you waiting for? Go be ready for the attack!" The gorilla guard nodded and ran off. "Girl! Can you paint me holding my sword and thrusting it through Chao's heart?"
"I can try." The bunny artist replied. She held up her brush and began to paint.
Everything is falling into place. Jiao-long thought darkly.