Chapter 2: Invasion
"This side's all done," Viper said as she slithered back to look over her handiwork. "All the windows are nicely sealed," Tigress grunted as she sealed another small window on her side of the hall in the central palace.
"What's wrong, Tigress?" Viper asked as she glanced to her friend.
"I know it pays to be on the defensive, but isn't this a little extreme?" Tigress asked with a deep frown.
"Master Shifu surely has his reasons," Viper smiled slightly, "Besides, from that look he shared with Po, they may have been waiting for something like this."
"Oh, of course, if Po agrees, it has to be!" Tigress snorted. "It would be just like him anyway. The first sign of trouble and he goes running for safety."
"Tigress!" Viper gasped, "The only time Po has ever run from any trouble was when Tai Lung had just escaped. And that was when the only training he had received was us using him as a training dummy," She said hotly.
"I know, I'm just getting tired of it," Tigress growled but cursed herself for letting it slip out.
"Tired of what?" Viper asked, growing concerned for her old friend.
"Nothing, forget it…" Tigress shook her head and went back to work.
"Tigress…" Viper hissed warningly.
"We're in the middle of a crisis here," Tigress growled, finishing the window she was working on.
"Talk," Viper narrowed her eyes.
"For years, I… we tried to gain Master Shifu's acceptance. Then, this big, fat panda shows up, and he doesn't just get it, he gets it without even trying!" Tigress exclaimed. "How do you expect me to feel about that?"
"Happy someone finally knocked some sense into the old man?" Viper smiled slightly.
"Did he really get some sense knocked in or knocked out?" Tigress snorted. "The Panda isn't ready for that much trust. Dragon Warrior or not, he is definitely no master… and yet Master Shifu allows him, HIM, to take an apprentice. And did it really change much? It was bad enough he was silently comparing us to Tai Lung, but now, it's Po this… Panda that… The Dragon Warrior would…"
"If memory serves, you called him a master two years ago after he defeated Tai Lung," Viper brushed her chin with the tip of her tail. "And at the rate Po completed his training, it's perfectly understandable to use him as an example."
"Oh, don't you start, too," Tigress growled, turning and walking to the next open window.
"Tigress, Po is the Dragon Warrior, and he's done a wonderful job with the classes, far better than any of us ever even dreamed," Viper said with a slight smile. "And above all that, he's our friend. He's your friend, too."
"You really don't get it, do you?" Tigress gave a half laugh, "I just don't want to talk about it right now, ok?" she asked in an almost pleading tone.
"Ok, you win, but we WILL talk about this," Viper said, pointing the end of her tail toward her friend. "Preferable over a fresh bowl of Po's secret ingredient soup… Gods, I could go for that right about now…"
"You're not getting me to eat that…" Tigress cringed.
"Mark my words, before year's end, you'll be as crazy over it as the rest of us," Viper nodded rapidly.
"You say that every year, sister," Tigress shook her head.
"Is the hall secured?" Shifu asked as he joined the two female warriors.
"Yes, Master; we just finished," Viper said as she and Tigress bowed.
"That board is loose," Shifu pointed out to the front window on Tigress' side. "We have to make sure this is as secured as possible for the villagers should that thing make it this far."
"Yes, Master," Tigress said as she quickly secured the loose board.
"Master Shifu," Cream said as she entered ahead of Po, who paused to catch his breath. "All the villagers have been warned and are preparing to come up to the Palace."
"Excellent work, Po, Cream," Shifu nodded. "Let us hope Oogway's warning isn't as grave as he led us to believe." He said, and Po nodded in agreement.
"What warning?" Viper asked curiously, but before he could answer, Monkey led Crane and Mantis into the room.
"They're back," Monkey stated the obvious as they all looked expectantly at the pair.
"What did you learn?" Shifu asked, folding his arms behind him.
"Metal soldiers marching through the valley toward the Palace," Crane stated gravely, "Hundreds of them… probably even thousands."
"Describe them…" Shifu frowned deeply.
"Tall, almost as tall as Po, black with some camouflage patterns, large oval heads with a single, long eye… thing." Mantis spoke up, "And very good eyes, I was going top speed, and they saw me AND counter-attacked. They're obviously used to fighting things faster than them."
"SWATbots…" Shifu growled, "Has Acorn betrayed us, or is Julian acting on his own?" He mused to himself.
"SWATbots…" Tigress moaned and closed her eyes, while the others just looked confused.
"What are sweat bots?" Po scratched his head and asked the question the others were silently asking.
"What do you know about the Great War?" Shifu asked, turning away from his students.
"Started around thirty years ago, and lasted roughly seven years," Po stated knowledgably. "No one knows who fired the first shot, but it ended up with a race of mammals called humans overpowering us and using us as slaves. We rebelled and fought for our freedom, and the war ended with the humans retreating to the sky."
"Very good, your knowledge never ceases to amaze me, Master Panda," Shifu nodded with a small smile, missing Tigress' scowl. "Master Tigress was very young back then, but Tai Lung and I fought along side the followers of King Maximillian Acorn. If I recall, you became quite close friends with the Princess while you were there, Tigress," he said with a fond smile on his face.
"An exile of the humans joined us; he claimed to be a sympathizer of our cause. He called himself Dr. Julian Ivo Robotnik." Shifu continued. "It wasn't publicized too much, but we were losing… rapidly. Julian's knowledge of the humans' technology helped to no end."
"He helped set up the SWATbots: an army of mechanical soldiers with combat skills close to that of Tai Lung. We could send these soldiers into combat and not risk as much harm to our own dwindling numbers." Shifu nodded, "We stayed till the tide was completely turned and the humans sounded their retreat. But we couldn't stay to help with the final clean up. Bandit attacks had increased in the Valley while Tai Lung and I were away. We haven't had any contact since concerning the Kingdom of Acorn."
"Do you think that the Kingdom is behind this attack?" Viper asked.
"Sally wouldn't ever allow that," Tigress shook her head.
"It's been over twenty years, Tigress," Shifu argued, "but let's worry about the matter at hand before we point fingers."
"How far away are they?" Shifu asked Crane.
"Should be arriving in a matter of hours, if we're lucky," Crane shook his head.
Shifu frowned gravely. "I'll have the evacuation gong sound to get the villagers up here and safe," he said before turning to his students. "Dragon Warrior, Furious Five, go intercept the invaders at the river. Cream and I can lead the higher-level students in the event the invaders make it past you six."
"M-Me? Me lead?" Cream whimpered, staring at the aged master.
"You'll be fine, Cream," Po said, walking up to his student. "No different than training with us and the dummies. Heck, the training hall's probably going to be more dangerous than those metal guys."
"B-But if he gets past you guys… what… what's a little rabbit like me going to do?" Cream asked in near panic and tears.
"Big if there, Cream, and besides even if you didn't have Master Shifu, you could do it." Po said and frowned slightly when he saw her still in disbelief. "Alright, time to give you a power-up, then. I'm going to show you something few have ever seen, and only those here truly understand." He said as he pulled his most prized possession from his belt.
"T-The Dragon Scroll?" Cream's eyes widened even farther.
"That's right," Po said as he placed it into the rabbit's paws. "Open it, and it will show you where you can gain the power to defend your friends, your family, and this Palace."
The young bunny timidly opened the top of the casing and slid out the red and gold ornate scroll. "Go on, open it," Po nodded encouragingly.
She gulped loudly as she slowly unrolled the scroll and blinked in confusion at the blank, gold reflective sheet of parchment. "Huh? I don't …"
"There is no secret ingredient," Po explained, "You can't get awesomely bodacious power from a sheet of paper, Cream," he said, pointing to her reflection in the sheet. "It comes from right there."
Cream's eyes widened in understanding. "All you have to do is believe," Po said, patting Cream's head as she rolled up the scroll, replaced it back into its casing and handed it back to her master.
"I… I'll try…" Cream gulped but nodded bravely.
"Awesome," Po grinned before he stood back to his feet and turned to the Five. "Alright, guys, ready to kick some butt?"
---
New Mobotropolis, Kingdom of Acorn, Thousands of miles to the West
"Landing gear, Check. Auto-Morph systems, Check. Main power and alternate power supplies prepped and charged," a fifteen-year-old, yellow furred fox with twin twitching tails names Miles "Tails" Prower read out loud as he keyed and checked his prototype vehicle. "C.C. Jump Drive, check."
"All ready, Tails?" a tall, red echidna with two sharp knuckles pointing through his gloves approached the teen. "You know Sonic's probably going to be there and finished the fight by the time you finish the checklist. I want some action, not clean up."
"You want to make it there or to crash mid-flight, Knuckles?" Tails asked his friend as he glanced over his shoulder. "Don't get your dreadlocks in a twist; I'm almost done."
"Alright, go ahead and load up," a tall, female chipmunk with mid-neck-length red hair approached the two with a group.
"What's going on, Sally?" Knuckles asked in irritation.
"You didn't expect us to let you three run off to the other side of the planet alone, did you?" a partly cybernetic echidna smiled, patting Knuckle's cheek before kissing his nose.
"Julie-Su…" Knuckles whined.
"The Chaotix are coming with you," Julie-Su said as she and Sally planted their hands on their hips. "End of discussion."
"Dang it," Knuckles growled, "Alright, Charmy and Espio are toward the front, Julie-Su, Arty, Rouge, and Mighty are middle, and Me and Viktor are at the rear."
"What about us?" Sally asked, and Knuckles glanced up in irritation at the Princess and the mountain cat at her side.
"You plan on tagging along and slowing us down?" Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"I am the goodwill ambassador and princess of the Kingdom of Acorn," Sally stated.
"Had to pull the princess and ambassador card again," Knuckles sighed.
"AND Mei Ling used to live in the Valley of Peace. We could use a guide," Sally continued, motioning to the green-clad mountain cat, and crossing her arms defiantly.
"And I have a good friend there I haven't heard from since I left the Valley," Mei Ling stated with a hint of worry in her voice. "I have to be sure he's ok."
"Alright, you two can come; besides, you're still the only one Sonic somewhat listens to," Knuckles said to the princess, "Tails, we ready?"
"Roger Wilco! Tornado XZ, ready and waiting!" Tails said, twisting his two tails together before spinning them like helicopter blades, flying up to the cockpit of the large vehicle.
The group all settled inside the rear hatch of the large, blue-and-white vehicle resembling a cross between a bi-plane and an armored personnel carrier. It rocketed down the runway before lifting off and taking to the air.
"Everyone buckled up?" Tails asked from the cockpit as he turned the Tornado east. "Hold on to something… cause here… we… GO!" He said as he punched the thrusters, and the plane shot through the air.
---
"This should be a good enough place to draw the line," Tigress said as the six warriors stopped several miles away from the village. "You ok back there, Panda?"
"Yeah... fine... of course... why wouldn't I…" he said between pants as he placed his hands on his knees and took deep breaths.
"Deep breaths. Here, have some water," Monkey said, patting the Dragon Warrior's shoulder and handing him a flask of water.
"Oh, thank you…" he said guzzling from the flask.
"Here they come," Monkey said, holding up a hand to shade his eyes. Tigress narrowed her eyes as she watched the legions of metal troopers marching directly toward them.
"I think we should break into teams," Crane stated, making a quick strategy. "Monkey and Mantis, you two team up and use your speed advantage, Viper and I will use our defense advantage, and Po and Tigress will use their power advantage."
"Naturally, I have to babysit the Panda," Tigress rolled her eyes.
"Tigress," Viper sighed before going up to her friend's shoulder to his in her ear, "Give him a chance. He did beat Tai Lung, and you've only had to help him out…"
"Four times," Tigress' eye twitched.
"And he's helped you just as many," Viper nodded, causing the tiger to roll her eyes again.
"No offense, O Lovely Lady Warriors of Kung Fu Buttkickery," Po said, taking a low fighting stance, "But we're about to fight, so can we save the girl talk for afterward?"
"Girl talk?" Tigress asked, taking a fighting stance beside the panda, "You are so getting pounded when we get back to the training hall."
"Looking forward to it, Master Tigress," Po flashed a grin, which caused Tigress to snort.
The lines of identical mechanical soldiers came to a stop before the six Kung Fu warriors and stood silently for a moment, seemingly scanning the group. "Targets identified, Furious Five," one appearing to be the leader spoke up. "Unidentified panda. Priority: Furious Five and Dragon Warrior Tai Lung."
"Dragon Warrior Tai Lung?" Viper whispered, the same thought on all their minds.
"Furious Five and Unidentified Panda, surrender and prepare for Robotization," the lead SWATbot spoke monotonically, "Do not fight, do not run. Resistance is futile."
"Alright, I'm not sure what you just said there at the end, but I take it as a threat," Po said with a smirk.
"Take 'em down," Tigress growled, and not a second later, all six jumped to attack.
The three teams of two ran into the crowd of robots, forcing them to break ranks. Po's large paw punched through the lead SWATbots before taking its metallic head clear off with a side chop. "Hey, guys, these things aren't alive!" Po called out, "Don't hold back!"
Po jumped toward another Bot, kicking with his right leg before following through with a punch from his left fist then his right. "You boys messed with the wrong Panda!" Po exclaimed before jumping into the air to roundhouse kick another SWATbot.
Po turned to check and see how the others were fairing and saw they, too, were tearing through the invaders with practiced ease. One movement caught his eyes. "Tigress! Heads up!" Po called out, barreling forward and tackling Tigress to the ground, just as a beam of energy fired from one of the SWATbots arms.
Po smiled down at his comrade staring back up at him. "I knew he was going to attack. I had that under control," Tigress said with a low growl.
"You're welcome!" Po said as he got up and held out a paw to the tiger.
Tigress took his hand and swung around his body to strike the SWATbot coming at his back, kicking first with her right foot then her left before settling on the ground with her shoulders pressed to Po's back. "You didn't have to do that," Po said glancing back at the feline, "I knew he was coming and was gonna take him out with one of my own totally awesome moves!"
"You're welcome," Tigress parroted with a smirk. "Here comes the next wave," Tigress said, glancing to the panda as she took her stance.
"Not getting past us," Po said, taking the tiger-style stance as well, which caused the tiger to hesitate a moment. "Ready?" the panda asked, and the two warriors locked eyes. With one last nod to each other, they turned to the rushing SWATbots.
In perfect synchronization, Po and Tigress launched their counter-attack. They threw matching powerful punches and kicks, tearing through the attacking robots as if they were nothing more than the dummies in the training hall.
"You've shown… some improvement, Dragon Warrior," Tigress noted as she stood shoulder to shoulder with the panda.
"Dragon Warrior?" a synthetic voice spoke above them. Po and Tigress looked up to see a blue-and-silver robotic hedgehog lowering to them. "It would seem our gathered information is incorrect. You are called 'Dragon Warrior', but you are not the Snow Leopard Tai Lung."
"Nice entrance," Po noted.
"Surrender and be roboticized," the metal hedgehog growled, holding up his metallic claws. "Or challenge me and die."
"Tigress, go help the others," Po said, popping his neck.
"The plan was to stay in groups of two," Tigress growled, staring down at the blue android.
"Yeah, well, this guy's wanting the Dragon Warrior," Po said, rolling his arms and dropping into a low stance. "And Master Oogway used to say 'be careful what you wish for. Often times you won't like what you get.'"
"He also taught humility," Tigress replied with a shake of her head. "I don't like this."
"Me neither," he whispered, "I'll keep him busy long enough for you guys to finish off his buddies."
Tigress hesitated a moment before glancing away. "Don't get hurt," She replied softly before dropping to all fours to run to where the others were battling the dwindling SWATbots.
"Alright, tin can, you ready to feel the thunder?" Po asked, smirking at the robot.
The android seemed to blink its glowing red eyes before it spoke its reply. "Only if you can catch the lightning."
"Huh?" Po asked, and the metallic hedgehog seemed to disappear from sight. Po yelped when the robot slammed into his back, knocking him forward, but the panda managed to stay on his feet. "Super speed… that would be so cool if it wasn't trying to kick my butt…" he whispered before bracing himself, remaining as perfectly still as he could.
He closed his eyes and focused on his center, letting all distractions escape, just as Master Shifu taught him.
He focused on a single sound, something that seemed like a large arrow flying through the air, only much softer yet louder. He snapped his eyes opened and smiled tightly. "Skadoosh!" He said as he took a single step to the side and spun around with his arm firm and extended.
"SZKT!!" Metal Sonic buzzed/grinded out as Po caught him right across the throat, sending the robot crashing across the ground.
"Too slow," Po mocked as he turned and took a fighting stance to the dazed machine.
"The game is over," Metal Sonic growled as he opened his hands, extending claws from his metallic fingers.
Not far away, Tigress fought alongside the rest of the Furious Five, finishing off the few remaining SWATbots. A look of pride flashed across her face for a moment as Po faced the now-dented-and-dirty blue robot that was rushing him. "He's got this," She spoke to herself before she pushed both of her palms into a strike to the faceplate of her opponent.
Po smirked and readied himself as Metal rushed him. He planted his feet into the ground just below his shoulders, clinched his fists and tightened his arms, and clinched his back and butt before sucking his enlarged gut in.
Po timed it perfectly, and just as Metal jumped into the air toward him, pushed his chest out to impact. But unlike Tai Lung two years earlier, Metal seemed to be ready for this, swinging his clawed hand at an angle…
Tigress' ears perked up at the sound of Po's yelp of pain. She turned and her eyes widened and horror washed over her face as blood splattered across the ground toward her.
The Furious Five froze as Metal Sonic stepped away from the Dragon Warrior, his blood-stained claw glistening in the light. A soft chuckle came from the android's mouth as Po fell first to his knees then face down onto the ground. "You had an opportunity to live forever as one of my brethren," he said, lifting his other claw into a striking position.
Before he could strike or even finish his statement, Tigress' foot lifted him in the air as she attacked with an upward crescent kick before settling between Po and Metal Sonic. "You will not touch him again," She stated, baring her fangs and claws with her bristles raised and tail twitching angrily.
"Viper, Mantis, is he… is… is he?" Tigress asked, glancing back to see Monkey and Crane carefully rolling their injured friend over for Viper and Mantis to check his wounds.
"Oh, this ain't good," Crane hissed as he tenderly touched the deep cut across Po's chest.
"We gotta get him back to the palace," Viper stated as she stared at the open wound.
The sound of clapping drew their attention, and the Five looked up to see a large, black-and-white, egg-shaped vehicle with a single light on the front lower to the ground. Three small legs lowered from the bottom, and the side slid down into steps. "Bravo! Bravo!" A bald, chubby human with a thick, red mustache stepped down to the ground to stand beside Metal Sonic, applauding the five. "Bravo! The Furious Five and the surprisingly unexpected Dragon Warrior. Bravo! Good show, good show!"
"Julian?" Tigress asked with narrowed eyes.
The fat man narrowed his eyes before laughing heartedly. "Little Mei Ren? My, how you've grown! I shouldn't be surprised to see General Shifu's daughter would be the one to become the famed Master Tigress. I, too, no longer go by my old name, for I am now Dr. Robotnik, and this world is now MINE.
"You all look tired from your ordeal; perhaps I can help you with that," Robotnik smiled kindly. "How would you like to have new bodies, like my friend Metal here?" he asked. "You'll never tire, never want for sleep, food, or rest. You will be the perfect life form.
"And you'll never die," Robotnik noted the severe injury on the Dragon Warrior's chest. "I can fix that, too. Don't you want your friend saved?"
"At what price?" Tigress growled, keeping her fighting stance.
"That's the best part. You will not have to worry about that annoying free will," Robotnik clapped his hand. "There will be no more disagreements, fighting, or wars; there will be pure, blissful… peace."
"You're insane…" Tigress shook her head at the old man.
"It hurts me that you feel this way," Robotnik shook his head, "Metal, take them; if you can't capture them, kill them."
"As good as your robot is," Viper hissed, "There's five of us and one of it."
"So it would seem… Metal, start with the tiger," Robotnik crossed his arms over his chest.
"As you wish, Dr. Robotnik," Metal said, lifting the bloodied claw to strike at Tigress. But before Tigress could counter, Po shot forward, gripping her shoulder with one paw for support, and reaching out to catch Metal Sonic's claw with the other hand, holding his forefinger with his two other fingers and lifting his pinky.
"The Wuxi Finger Hold?" Metal asked curiously, staring at the finger.
"Oh, you know this hold," Po wheezed, smiling appreciatively as Tigress ducked down to place his arm across her shoulders. "Then, you know what'll happen as soon as I flex this pinky. I know from experience, the hardest part of this hold is cleaning up afterwards."
"Finish him, Panda," Tigress said, glancing over at the wounded Panda she supported; none noticed Robotnik reach and touch a single button on his wrist.
"This is for this little scratch you gave me…" Po growled softly before flexing his pinky, making the whole area explode in golden light.
"Hehehe … HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Robotnik laughed heartedly, almost doubling over.
"What's so funny…" Po coughed as the dust began to settle.
"You Guardians did exactly as I expected, even more predictable than the royal family's silly little band of Freedom Fighters." Robotnik chuckled, wiping his eye. "I knew Shifu's favorite finishing technique would come out, though I wasn't expecting you to get back up… Anyway, do you have any idea how much raw energy is released when the Wuxi Finger Hold is activated? Answer: Enough to power hundreds of SWATbot self-repair and adaptation-system power adaptors." He said as the damaged remains of the SWATbots began to get back up, repairing themselves and even growing bigger.
"Oh…" Mantis groaned.
"Crap…" Crane finished for his friend.
"Bad day… Bad day… Bad day…" Monkey began chanting over and over.
If the returning, and seemingly supercharged, SWATbots weren't bad enough, a moment later Metal Sonic appeared at Robotnik's side. "Disconnected arm and speed dashed away successfully as instructed, Dr. Robotnik."
"Just as I planned," Robotnik laughed, "Now Furious Five, or is it six, eh, either case, surrender or die."
"Guys…" Po coughed as a small line of red slid down from the corner of his mouth, traveling down to fall on Tigress' shoulder. "Leave me here, and get back to the village. I'll hold 'em as long as I can."
"No, we're not leaving you to die," Tigress growled, gripping his shoulder almost painfully.
"Yeah, Po, we came together, and we're going to face this together," Mantis said, landing on Po's other shoulder.
"I could have thought of better ways to die, but might as well be fighting with my buddies," Crane said, taking a fighting stance on the other side of the Panda.
"If they think we're going to go down easy, they're gonna be disappointed," Viper hissed, curling up protectively in front of Po.
"Bad day…" Monkey sighed before taking a stance between Viper and Crane.
"So, you all will stand by your wounded friend," Robotnik shook his head. "Such heroic foolishness. You five would have made wonderful weapons… it saddens me that it comes to…" he froze with his eyes widening in terror when a loud boom echoed from the east.
"Metal, was that a sonic boom?" Robotnik whimpered before the comlink on his wrist sounded. "Alert, object approaching on ground at supersonic speed."
"Oh, no… no… no… no… NO!" Robotnik began ranting, causing confusion for the six warriors.
"Furious Five, while whatever it is, is upsetting him get ready to strike back," Tigress whispered before a hand came to rest on her other shoulder.
"Oh, don't you worry about Eggman, Kitten," a shorter, blue hedgehog with three rows of spiked, curved quills smirked up at her, "You just worry about your boyfriend. I'll handle things from here."
"Who…" Tigress eyes flashed in confusion and anger at the hedgehog that apparently appeared out of thin air.
"They call me Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic said with a wink, "And I'll be your day-saving hero today."
To Be Continued …
Next time: More reinforcements arrive for both sides, and the fate of the Valley of Peace and ALL residences will be decided…
A/N: Thanks everyone for the favs and reviews! And don't be afraid to review, see something you like or don't like, let me know, just try to keep the flaming to a minimum.