Amazing Accomplishment
By: PointyEdgesofaSign
Note: Sorry for not updating, and for the shortness of this chapter and those that will follow, but updates will be much more frequent and dramatic now that I've finished writing this story and I'm starting a new series that you should totally look for, called 'Phobia'! It's gonna be awesome!
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Ch. 9
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Po ran.
That in and of itself was surprising, but the speed at which he was running was inhuman. It was also attributed to the fact that he couldn't be out of breath if he didn't need to breathe.
Funny how good death was for his health.
The panda smirked as he considered the irony of that statement, feet pounding the ground like anvils, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, the sound resonating within his ears. He considered how strange it was that he could still hear, when he lacked the ability to feel, but dismissed it as the gods' doing.
Approaching the Valley of Peace, Po's joyous expression fell. It was his last day, that he knew. He had run straight through the night and as he reached the Thread of Hope, he thought of how he had left Tai Lung to the mercy of Vachir. If how hard he had fought Po had been any indication of anything, though, he was certain the snow leopard could handle himself.
Except that he wasn't.
Po remembered being caught, the humiliation, fear, and pain as he was torn by that damned knife. He knew that Vachir was crafty, and that, in his current state of absolute naivety, Tai Lung didn't stand a chance against the cunning cruelty of the rhino guard.
Maybe, after he was really dead, the gods would let him at least protect his brother.
Po began crossing the long bridge, and would have run all the way had the smell of rotting flesh not assaulted his nostrils. He froze, turning on the tall island to where the scent was coming from. Scooting himself toward it, Po discovered it was coming from one of several bushes that littered the platform. Pulling the foliage apart, he felt the nonexistent contents of his stomach spill out upon the ground as he turned his head, decay and stomach acid spewing forth to coat the Earth.
Po had discovered the charred remains of his lover.
Blackened skin showed through the skeletons of feathers, beak melted to the side, seemingly molded to the ground. His skin had begun to rot through, revealing the desiccated internals of his lover.
As Po gazed in horror, one thought ran through his mind.
That was no way for a warrior, a hero, to be buried.
Cradling the burnt remains of the avian master, Po lifted his body and continued his trek back to the village, intent on having him buried at the Jade Palace, where he belonged.