Chapter Seventeen- The Tri-Dragon of Death vs. Jiao-long
Jiao-long stood on the rocks he had been thrown over. He was battered and his robes were filthy, but he laughed maniacally.
"I knew it!" he shouted. "No little girl can defeat me! Now I will blast you to dust!" He shot his palm out and Shifu and Junjie braced themselves.
But nothing happened.
Jiao-long tried again and again, but nothing came from his palm or fingertips. "Blasted little wench! Stole my powers!"
"They were never yours to begin with!" Junjie retorted.
Jiao-long snarled. "Then I'll rip you apart with my claws!" He came forward towards Junjie, but noticed Siren on the ground, still out cold. His eyes were full of lust as he turned his course towards her. Shifu and Junjie were both still tangled in vines and tree roots, so they could do nothing but watch in horror as Jiao-long raised his claws high to strike down Siren.
A sudden screech pierced the sky as a pair of owl's talons grabbed Jiao-long's arm and threw the reptile into the rocks. Fenghuang acted fast, cutting through the vines with her sharp wings. Shifu and Junjie stood alongside her, ready to fight.
"Can't you two stay out of trouble when I'm not around?" Fenghuang teased.
"Oh shut up." Junjie grumbled.
"We have a job to do." Shifu reminded them. "Now let's finish this." Fenghuang and Junjie nodded in understanding. Jiao-long ran towards them.
The fight began.
Jiao-long swiped his claws at Junjie, who expertly blocked them and kicked Jiao-long away. Shifu swiped at Jiao-long's feet and kicked him into the air. Fenghuang swooped down, grabbed Jiao-long's robes in her talons, and spun around to throw him into the ground. Jiao-long stood, growling. He attacked anyone that came close to him, but no matter what he did, he only got thrown one way and then another. With his limitless powers gone and his sword destroyed, he could only rely on his kung fu. He was obviously a seasoned kung fu master, but he was fighting against three other equally strong masters, and he could only land a few shots to each of them.
Jiao-long's anger was rising. He couldn't land a hit for a while now. Then, he finally snapped. With Shifu, Junjie, and Fenghuang surrounding him, he suddenly spun in a circle, unleashing a strong chi attack that blasted everyone backwards. Fenghuang would've flown off the cliff had her foot not been tangled in a tree root at the last second. Junjie hit his head on a rock and slumped to the ground. Only Shifu was partially spared, slamming into a tree but getting to his feet in seconds. Jiao-long turned his focus on the red panda. He went down on all fours, pacing back and forth in front of the small master, his tail swishing back and forth like a cat's. Shifu pressed himself against the tree, watching Jiao-long's every move.
Jiao-long darted in a zigzag before jumping towards Shifu, claws outstretched. Shifu jumped low and rolled away. Jiao-long landed on the tree and pushed off, aiming his foot towards Shifu. The red panda blocked the strike and moved in to kick the Komodo dragon aside. Jiao-long launched his fist forward, but it was caught and a palm thrust into his face. The scar on Jiao-long's face reopened, blood running down his face. Jiao-long hissed and leaped for Shifu, snapping his jaws. Shifu instinctively jumped away. But Jiao-long kept coming, intent on bringing Shifu down. Shifu had to jump this way and that, knowing one venomous bite from Jiao-long would slowly bring him to his demise. Jiao-long was constantly trying to bite or scratch Shifu, wanting to let the old man's blood flow. It wasn't until he tripped over a rock that Shifu got a hit in. Jiao-long went flying into a tree. He glared murderously and ripped a small branch from the tree. Using it like a club/staff, Jiao-long attacked again.
Shifu jumped back and tried to block the attacks, but the force inflicted by the tree branch was enough to push him back a few feet with each hit. The rough wood from the branch hurt his hands and arms whenever he blocked a strike. Then, Jiao-long caught him off guard when the Komodo dragon swung the branch like a bat, slamming one end into Shifu's face. Shifu hit the ground hard, bouncing and rolling until he hit a rock. Jiao-long ran up and slammed the tree branch against Shifu's neck. Shifu immediately put pressure against the branch, but Jiao-long was putting all his weight on the makeshift staff. His lungs burned as they were deprived of life-giving air.
Jiao-long sneered. "What made you think you could beat me? I've been planning every move I made! Nothing you could've done would stop me. And now, you will die here. China will be mine."
"Not this time!"
Jiao-long snarled as an orange streak slammed into him. He hissed towards Junjie, who stood protectively in front of Shifu. Junjie charged for Jiao-long. Shifu coughed a little and put a hand to his abused throat. He watched in amazement as Junjie and Jiao-long fought fiercely. Junjie let loose all the kung fu he knew as he battled, narrowly missing Jiao-long's teeth and claws.
But then, Jiao-long grabbed Junjie's shirt and threw him aside, launching a chi attack after him. Junjie slammed into Shifu. The chi attack made contact and sent the two masters over a cliff. Junjie grabbed the cliff edge in one hand and shot out the other to grab Shifu's paw. The two of them hung off the edge, the ground hundreds of feet below them.
Jiao-long appeared above them. He smirked confidently. "You two really should've chosen your allies better." He stomped a foot on Junjie's hand. The fox clenched his teeth, but refused to let go. "By joining in the fight against me, you have signed your own death wishes."
"It was worth it." Junjie growled through still-clenched teeth.
Jiao-long shook his head. "I hope it's still worth it when you hit the ground." He pushed his foot forward, jerking Junjie's grip loose of the rock. Shifu and Junjie fell, faster and faster as the ground came closer. They would've been flattened on impact had Fenghuang not swooped in and caught them.
"What took you so long?" Junjie snapped.
"Shut up." Fenghuang droned. She flew up high and landed several feet from Jiao-long. Junjie and Shifu jumped down.
"We can't fight him separately." Shifu said. "We need a combined attack; one that'll stop him for good."
"But what?" Fenghuang asked.
Junjie suddenly got a mischievous look on his face. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yes." Shifu nodded.
"Oh dear." Fenghuang rolled her eyes.
It was a move they had practiced years ago when they were at the Jade Palace together. Oogway had always told them it was too dangerous to use in battle because it required immense concentration and power. It also required the target to remain still. If performed correctly, it could take away a person's ability to fight and render them useless. Many who tried the technique died from it. But with three of them working together, sharing the burden, it couldn't fail.
Could it?
Shifu ran in first, distracting Jiao-long while Junjie and Fenghuang grabbed some vines. Fenghuang dove down first, wrapping the vines in her feet around Jiao-long's hand, right before the Komodo dragon could land a punch with said hand. Junjie took the other end of the vine and tossed a second length of vine to Fenghuang. Junjie tied the vine end to a tree branch and ran to get the other end. Fenghuang managed to loop the second vine around Jiao-long's free hand. Junjie took the other end and trapped it under a rock.
With Jiao-long immobilized, his arms pulled out to either side of him, the technique could be performed.
Shifu, Junjie, and Fenghuang stood in a circle around Jiao-long. They concentrated on what needed to be done, gathering their chi to perform the technique. Jiao-long fought against his restraints, but the vines were strong. Auras formed around Shifu, Fenghuang, and Junjie; their Tri-Dragon of Death marks glowed brightly. Glowing orbs of their own chi formed in their palms/wings. Jiao-long, not knowing what was happening but sensing the danger, suddenly reached as far as he could and chewed off one of his bonds. He cut away at the last vine and darted for his nearest enemy: Fenghuang. Junjie and Shifu jumped beside her. Fenghuang flew a few feet above the ground. With their marks glowing and their stances strong, the Tri-Dragon of Death shouted, "Dragon's Deathless Execution!"
Three comets of chi went flying towards Jiao-long, circling the Komodo dragon at rapid speeds. Streams of light came from Jiao-long's body, entering the ring of light around him. He shouted with rage as the lights spun faster and fast. Suddenly, there was an explosion. Shifu, Junjie, and Fenghuang shielded their eyes.
When the light died down, Jiao-long was on the ground. He didn't move.
Junjie sighed, and then laughed. "That…..was so cool."
Shifu laughed and shook his head. "Of all the things you could've said, you decide to say, 'That was so cool'?"
"What more can I say?" Junjie laughed. "We did it! That was the most amazing thing I've ever done! The most amazing thing we've ever done! Ha ha!"
Fenghuang rolled her eyes. "You are such a nerd." She ruffled the fur on his head. "I don't know how I put up with you."
Junjie pushed her foot away. "Let's get down to the armies. Tell them the good news."
Shifu and Fenghuang nodded in agreement. They turned to walked back down the mountain when a noise reached their ears. They spun around as Jiao-long's body shifted. He stood up, swaying this way and that like a drunken man.
"You…..can't…..beat me!" Jiao-long declared weakly.
"Why doesn't he just die already?" Fenghuang said, annoyed.
"I am….the great….Jiao-long!" Jiao-long continued, wobbling around. He was obviously in no shape to fight, but that didn't stop him. "I will…..create a new army….and I…..will destroy…" A claw tapped his shoulder. Jiao-long turned around quickly. "What?"
Chao's fist connected with Jiao-long's face. Jiao-long spun around in a full circle a few times before stopping to face away from Chao. He stood in one spot for a moment before spitting a tooth out of his mouth and falling to the ground, unconscious. Junjie, Shifu, and Fenghuang stared.
"Are you kidding?" Fenghuang said. "All that we've thrown at him, and all it took to knock him out was a single punch to the face?"
"Wow." Junjie groaned.
"Where's Siren?" Chao asked hurriedly. The members of the Tri-Dragon of Death suddenly got wide eyes. They had forgotten that Siren took a pretty bad blow in her own battle. Everyone turned to the wounded human, who was lying still and silent on the ground. Everyone started towards her, but Chao darted ahead and got there first. He rolled Siren to her back and lifted her head in his hand. Shifu, Junjie, and Fenghuang stood a little ways away to give them some air.
"Siren?" Chao stared at his daughter's face, mentally screaming for her eyes to open or for her to show some signs of life. But Siren's face remained still.
"Siren." Shifu whispered. "Siren, please."
Siren wouldn't move. Chao trembled slightly, refusing to accept it. He hugged his daughter tight, silent tears dripping down to Siren's hair.