Chapter Eleven- Finding Siren
"The prophecy wasn't talking about a gem." Fenghuang whispered.
"And it wasn't talking about a creature." Junjie noted.
"It was talking about Siren Jin." Shifu realized. "The girl we saved all those years ago."
Jien nodded. "You are correct."
Shifu leaned on the table. The ice cold feeling returned and he removed the golden locket from around his neck.
"What's that?" Junjie asked.
"Chao gave it to me." Shifu said. "I promised him I'd find the person in this locket and bring them home." He sighed with dread and opened the locket. One look inside, and he had to close his eyes to hide the pain. He placed the open locket on the table with the prophecy. Junjie and Fenghuang looked and their eyes widened. Inside were two pictures. On the left was Chao standing next to a woman with pale skin, bright green eyes, and dark hair, wearing a beautiful red wedding dress. Chao was also dressed for a wedding. On the right was another picture of the woman, this time in a simple pair of pants and a shirt. On her lap was a young girl that looked just like her.
"Siren…" Junjie whispered.
"I don't understand." Fenghuang shook her head. "Who's the woman with Chao and Siren?"
"That's Ren." Shifu said softly. "Chao's wife and Siren's mother."
"Chao wanted you to find Siren." Junjie guessed. Shifu nodded. Fenghuang stood up straighter.
"And that's just what we're going to do." She said firmly. "Jiao-long never had any rock; he had that girl. And we're going to save her."
"How?" Shifu asked. "We can clearly see a tower in the center of the castle; Siren must be up there."
"We shouldn't bring the army in yet." Junjie said. "Siren obviously has powers that can help us. So if we release her, then we'll be set."
"So we go in, get Siren, and get out?" Shifu rephrased.
"And then we launch a full-out attack that will bring Jiao-long to his knees!" Fenghuang said.
"Perfect." Shifu nodded.
"Let's inform the others." Junjie said. They walked towards the exit.
"Junjie…"
The fox turned to Jien. "Don't forget the other prophecy you have."
Junjie's eyes widened in realization, and he nodded. They continued to the army. Lily, Ling, and the Ladies of the Shade were still dancing. When they finished, Junjie called for everyone's attention.
"We have some new information and a new plan." Junjie announced. "This so-called Siren's Gem is not a gem, but a human by the name of Siren Jin." Chao's eyes widened. "We won't be going in with a full-fledged attack because Jiao-long will expect that. Shifu, Fenghuang, and I are going to Jiao-long's castle now. We're going to find Siren and try and bring her back. When we return, we'll launch an attack on Jiao-long to finish him once and for all. If Siren really does have great powers, then that'll be perfect to bring Jiao-long down. Everyone clear on the plan?"
"We'll be waiting right here." Su promised.
"Just make sure you hurry back." Po said. "I'm seriously ready to beat this guy down."
"Don't attack until our orders." Shifu said as he, Junjie, and Fenghuang left. "If we're not back by sunrise tomorrow, send someone to search for us."
Chao trailed after them. "I'm coming with you." He said once they were away from the armies' earshot.
"No, Chao, you need to stay with the army." Shifu said. "Should we not return alive, which I doubt that'll happen, you need to lead the army."
"I'm coming with you!" Chao repeated.
"Chao…" Shifu stopped the elder master.
"Siren is my daughter!" Chao hissed. "I haven't seen her in over a year!"
"I know, but-"
"I won't lose her again!" Chao's voice was rising.
"Chao, listen to me!" Shifu snapped. "I made you a promise, remember?" He showed Chao the locket, which he had put around his neck once more. "I promised you that I would find her and return this to her. I agreed to bring her home, safe and sound. I'm going to find her now and give her back the locket. I promised I'd bring her home, and I will keep that promise till my dying breath. You have my word."
Chao glared hard into Shifu's eyes. There was an extremely tense moment of silence. Finally, Chao took a shaky breath and nodded.
"Please." He whispered. "Bring her back."
STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR
Shifu, Junjie and Fenghuang peered through the trees, looking up at Jiao-long's castle. The guards were heavily armed as they patrolled the walls, or at least, what was left of it.
"Should we go straight to the tower?" Fenghuang pointed towards said tower. A single window let out the light from inside.
"They'll see us and shoot us down." Junjie said. "We have to create a distraction and fly in the nearest window."
"But where?" Shifu asked. He craned his neck, but couldn't see another window below the tower.
"How about there?" Junjie suggested. He pointed to a large window near a destroyed part of the wall. "That's the window we escaped from earlier."
"Perfect." Fenghuang nodded. "Climb on." Shifu and Junjie hopped onto the owl's back and she flew up into the air. Shifu stopped her. "What?"
"We need a distraction." He said simply. He looked around and pulled and apple from the branch above the one Fenghuang rested on. He threw it as hard as he could and the fruit connected with a guard's skull. Though it didn't knock him out, he did tumble over the edge and land on the ground. The guards working on the wall ran to help. Fenghuang took her opportunity and darted towards the window. She disappeared just as a guard was looking up. He only shrugged and went back to work.
"We're in." Fenghuang said as Shifu and Junjie dismounted from her back. "Now what?"
"We find some stairs to that tower." Junjie said. They rushed out the door and down the hall.
"This place is huge." Fenghuang said. "How are we supposed to find one lousy set of stairs?"
They rounded a corner. In front of them was a door labeled "Stairs to the Siren's Gem's Chambers".
"Found them." Shifu said. Fenghuang rolled her eyes as she opened the door and the three of them snuck inside. They began their ascent up the stairs. Round and round and round they went up the corridor, with only torches to light their way. After a while, Junjie began panting.
"I don't think…..even the Jade Palace…mountain has…..this many steps!" he panted.
"No kidding!" Fenghuang was breathing a little hard. "There's no room for me to fly!"
"I think we're almost there!" Shifu huffed.
"You….said that…..five flights ago!" Junjie protested. Suddenly, they hit a door. "Finally!" The three of them took a moment to catch their breaths. Shifu peered in through the keyhole and listened.
"I don't think anyone's in there." He said. "But it's very odd."
"How so?" Junjie asked.
Shifu pushed open the door. "One, it's not locked. Two, this doesn't look anything like a prison."
The three of them stepped in and closed the door behind them. They stared around the large room.
A grand bed was against the wall, at least 2 meters squared. It was covered with beautifully decorated pillows and extra soft-looking blankets. Some toys were scattered at the foot of the bed. The walls were painted gold. The floor was covered in soft felt rugs. A large desk was near the window, covered art supplies: paint, brushes, paper, small nails and a hammer; multiple pictures, hand drawn, covered the floor and the walls. A large closet was across from the bed with a full-length mirror near it. The closet was overflowing with beautiful dresses. Silk curtains covered the window. Only one thing seemed out of place: a Bo staff was propped against the bed, pure black with a golden dragon on it.
"I remember that." Junjie said wistfully. He picked up the staff and stared at it. "Siren saw it in the village and fell in love with it. Oogway sent us away with her so he could secretly buy it."
"Look here." Shifu said. He walked to the other side of the bed and picked up a poster from one of the pillows. He showed it to Junjie. The poster was of Chao.
"I guess without the locket, she doesn't have much to remind her of him." Junjie shrugged.
"Would you look at these?" Fenghuang nearly squealed. She felt the dresses in the closet and pulled a couple out to look at them. "These dresses are so beautiful!" Shifu and Junjie gave her an exasperated look.
"Once a girl…." Shifu started.
"Always a girl." Junjie finished.
"Oh shut up." Fenghuang snapped. "Just look at this!" She pulled out a purple Renaissance style dress. "This isn't even Chinese!"
"Most likely Jiao-long's attempts to bribe Siren." Shifu shook his head. "Where is she?"
"I'm sure she'll turn up." Junjie assured. "Let's not panic."
Suddenly they heard voices outside the door.
"Panic!" Junjie whispered.
"Hide!" Shifu hissed. Fenghuang buried herself into the closet while Shifu and Junjie dove under the bed just as the door opened. Shifu and Junjie listened.
"Now then, into your room, my dear." Jiao-long's voice said. "And no running off, now."
"I understand." A girl's voice said.
"If you need anything, just call." Jiao-long said. "Have a good night!" He shut the door. From where Junjie and Shifu were, they could only see a pair of pale human feet walking about the room. They traveled to the closet and a white nightgown was pulled out. Thankfully, Fenghuang was not seen. The feet walked back towards the bed and small red dress dropped to the floor. The feet stepped out of the dress and a hand picked it up. A voice began humming as the bottom of the white nightgown could be seen. Then, the voice started to sing a lullaby. The feet twirled and danced about gracefully before resting near the window. The voice finished singing, and a sigh could be heard.
"Wow." Shifu breathed. Suddenly, he jumped a little when he heard snoring. He looked over at Junjie next to him, but the fox was asleep. Shifu rolled his eyes and elbowed Junjie. The fox snorted and shook his head to wake up.
"What happened?" he yawned.
"You fell asleep." Shifu whispered.
"Not my-whoa!" Junjie was suddenly dragged out of sight. Shifu lunged for him, but something wrapped around his wrist and dragged him out from under the bed. The silk bed curtains suddenly wrapped around him and Junjie like snakes, dangerously close to the window.
"What are you doing in my room you perverted creeps?" a girl shouted. Junjie and Shifu twisted around and saw a young human, about seventeen, with obsidian black hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes. Her arms were outstretched, and it was clear she was the one controlling the curtains.
"Siren!" Junjie said, pulling the fabric from his mouth. "Siren! It's us!"
Siren's eyes narrowed. But when she realized who she had strung up, her eyes widened and her hands fell to her sides. Shifu and Junjie were dropped unceremoniously to the ground. They stood to face Siren. The young human hadn't changed a bit, minus the growth of her chest area. With her long black hair flowing to her knees and wearing a pure white, long-sleeved nightgown, you would've thought she was some sort of angel.
For Siren's part, she couldn't believe who she was seeing. As a young child, she had always seen Shifu and Junjie as her best friends, family even. After not seeing them for so long, Siren could do nothing more than kneel down and pull the two of them into a bone-crushing hug.
"I missed you guys so much!" she squealed.
"Siren!" Shifu gasped. "Can't….breathe!"
Siren suddenly dropped them and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. And sorry about the whole 'perverted creeps' thing."
"Not a problem." Junjie said, cracking his sore back.
Shifu groaned. "What do you know? Someone who can give tighter hugs than Po."
"Po?" Siren tilted her head. "Who's that?"
"The Dragon Warrior." Junjie said.
"Oh, cool." Siren shrugged. "Wait a minute, is anyone else in here?"
"Oh, right." Junjie turned to the closet. "Come on out, Fenghuang!" The owl flew out of the closet and landed next to them. "Siren, this is Fenghuang, a friend of ours."
"Pleased to meet you." Siren bowed. She turned excitedly to Shifu. "Hey, is my dad here?"
Shifu shook his head. "No, but he's waiting for us."
Siren's face fell. "Oh." She walked over to her bed and sat down. The three warriors present exchanged looks before walking up to the human.
"Something wrong?" Fenghuang asked.
"No, nothing." Siren shook her head. "I just….was hoping he'd come."
"He's waiting for us now." Junjie reminded her. "Come on, get dressed and we'll take you to him."
"No." Siren said.
There was a stunned silence. "What?" Junjie asked.
"I'm not leaving." Siren said firmly. "I'm staying here."