The Last Battle
Rocky crags turned into hilly plains through the night. They stopped briefly before moving on again. Always moving to the southwest in heavy silence. "We'll stop here," Zeng would say, and they rested without another word. She was tired, though Tigress couldn't figure out how Zeng could know that. But each and every protest to sleep was met with a resounding, "Being at your best requires rest. A master should know this."
A lesson and an accurately needed attack on her pride. Growling, Tigress slept, a little upset that she did feel much better the next day. Through dense bamboo forests and flooded plains, the two traveled uphill as morning turned into noon. They walked in complete silence.
That was until Zeng sighed as they got to the crest of another grassy hill. "Stop, this isn't helping."
"What?"
"This silence. Something's on your mind. What is it?"
"It... it doesn't matter."
Zeng stared straight into her amber eyes. She could remember the days when just the thought of doing this would send the duck into a nervous panic. Now it seemed the secret archer didn't fear anything.
"Having something on your mind," Zeng said, "is dangerous in the heat of battle. It takes you away from the present moment."
"What do you do when something is bother you?" Tigress asked, hoping for a change of topics.
Zeng smirked, "I write it down on a piece of paper-"
"Can't someone read it?"
"And then burn it."
"Why?"
"It helps. It's... a physical thing, I guess. Writing things down relieves the brain of the burden of holding them in, and burning them helps me let go of the thought. And keep it secret. Now, what is bothering you?"
The tiger said nothing, but the duck wouldn't move. Tigress looked away from Zeng's probing eyes over to the sea of trees and hills. "I... I... I don't know who you are. I know who you used to be. Who you were. Now... Now it's like I'm with a complete stranger."
The wind steadily flowed over the hilltop. Zeng stood like a statue in his blackened outfit. His stare never wavered from Tigress's face. He neither smiled nor frowned. Just a blank straight line across his bill. Finally, he took a large sigh, as large as the gust of wind blowing at them. "I won't pretend to say that I know what you're going through. I'm just surprised you cared-"
"I always care," Tigress grumbled with a hard stare. "Just because I don't express it-"
"And that's the problem," Zeng interrupted. Tigress held her lips together. "Tigress, the more you grew, the more responsible and mature you got. You didn't need my stories anymore. You weren't that small child in the barracks crying whenever Shifu was too hard on you. You were changing, and I respected that. Much better than Shifu ever did," Zeng griped, clenching his feathers.
"I... didn't know you thought so... strongly about Master Shifu," Tigress noted. The duck gave a wide almost evil grin.
"It's a good thing you haven't seen any of the pieces of paper I've burned then." Though he laughed, Zeng sighed heavily, "Tigress, I'm sorry. I honestly did not think I mattered that much to you. I figured you cared, just... not this much." He hung his head a bit. "But that still doesn't make up for hiding the truth from you. But between you and Shifu crying, I-"
"Wait what?" Tigress's head snapped up. "Shifu... cried. When?"
Zeng tilted his head, but a slow 'ah' of realization hit him. "That's right. Shifu was always good at hiding his emotions. Maybe that's why you have such a hard time showing yours. Especially to one specific pan-"
"Zeng!" Tigress growled. The duck chuckled.
"I'm sorry. Anyway, he'd often cry right after Tai Lung left. Master Oogway and you never saw it. He never allowed you to see it. He'd do it when he thought no one was around in his private room. He cries very quietly." Zeng shook his head as if he had awakened from a dream. "Knowing who I truly was wasn't what you needed at the time. My stories were. People hide a lot. Sometimes it's for good reasons, other times not so much. Often we say that it's for the good of others, but... we don't really know what's good for others," Zeng sighed more to himself. "I hid who I was for years and now I'm the cause of why you and everyone who's a duck is in danger, thinking I could protect my friends' families from learning the awful truth." Zeng shut his eyes. "And it didn't work." He tried shutting away the pain, but he couldn't. Squeezing his eyes as hard as he could, a small tear dripped down his face before another took its place.
The grief was too thick for talk. Whatever the duck did or was going through, what could Tigress do about it? She didn't know the full story. Even if she did, she was in no place to judge. Like she did with Po.
At that moment, she could only do what she had experienced with Po all the time. Tigress knelt down to Zeng's height and hugged him tightly.
A little too tight.
"Tigress! My ribs!"
"Oh! I'm... I'm sorry," Tigress released him. "I don't know what you're going through or who you are, but... I'm not in an entirely different position."
"Hehe," Zeng chuckled, wiping his eyes, "Yeah, I know. You don't know how many times Po comes up to me trying to figure out what your favorite color is."
Tigress rolled his eyes. "He's still trying to figure it out?"
"He's persistent," Zeng smirked.
"Yeah," Tigress chuckled a bit, "He is."
"Come on, let's keep going. Are you okay with following this... stranger?"
Tigress gave a tiny smile. "I think we know each other a little more than just strangers."
Zeng smiled back. "I don't doubt that."
They journeyed on. Passing hill after hill, they finally came near the snow-capped mountain range of Lao. They stood on a high mound, surveying the valley below until Tigress's eyes came to a small elevated clearing. "We should look there."
"Why?" Zeng asked.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing, it's just... that's where my house used to be."
"I had a feeling it was."
"How?"
"Your hideouts have a pattern. Saving your house, you always have a clearing or space around where you live," Tigress pointed out.
Zeng had a deadpan face with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I forgot why you're Shifu's star pupil."
Tigress smirked a bit, but it left quickly, "Do you think they're there?"
"We can look, but it doesn't make sense," Zeng said. "My house burned to the ground. The only place left would be the tunnels, but I don't think they'd pick my tunnels as their place of operation."
"Why?"
"Bad memories," Zeng muttered with a shiver. Tigress eyed the duck quietly. "Alright, let's go."
"Hold on," Tigress said. "There's a story you've never told me."
Zeng blinked. For a moment, his face went from confused to angry to sudden realization to sadness. "How Dead Shot Duck killed his comrades?" Tigress nodded.
"You also never told me that your house burned down. I don't remember that in the stories."
"It's-"
"Complicated?"
"Hehe, and you say you don't know me," Dead Shot smirked. "Come on, let's go." They snuck their way down the mound and through the spacious forest. "Hmm, these trees have gotten thin since the fire."
Tigress didn't ask why that was.
They continued on through the forest and met the mound. Several guards surrounded the clearing. "Okay. A bunch of guards guarding an otherwise normal mound. Sooooo, they might actually be here." Dead Shot quickly changed the arrows in his quiver and shot the guards down. Then Tigress heard loud snoring.
"Sleep darts?"
"I usually save the real arrows for assassinations. These guards aren't our real targets."
Tigress immediately thought about Po's words on Dead Shot's weird silence about the death of his comrades. As they got past the sleeping guards, they opened the worn slightly charred hatch door in the clearing and jumped down the hole. It was well-lit with torches and lanterns. They walked down the earthen tunnel. Suddenly, Tigress stopped. "Wait, do you hear something?" Tigress asked.
"We know where he is. We have to move now!" Came the shout.
"Yep, that sounds exactly like Hu," Zeng sighed.
"How do you know?" Tigress whispered.
"He has the same determination as his father." The two carefully snuck to the entrance of the door. Tigress noticed the tunnel was different. As they made their way to the door, she saw two tunnels going to the left and right. "They go in a circle," Zeng quickly explained. "It was so I could escape guards if they came this way or that." Tigress nodded and listened in, peeking through the crack of the door.
"If the word from our spies is right," Hu grunted. "Dead Shot is going to be in the village to the east in the Shang Depression. We'll be able to catch him off guard."
"The report also said that he's with the Furious Five. We can't go up against them. Not with so many of our troops spread out," Cheng Long, the fox said. "And even then, if the Furious Five are WITH him, we'll be openly starting a civil war."
"No, no!" Hu shouted, "I-we're not after the Furious Five or the Emperor. We're only out for one man, and one man only. The fact that he's with the Furious Five only means that he's either managed to manipulate them, or they've taken his side."
"And if they have taken his side? What then?" Wu Nang asked.
The goat's eyes burrowed into the map on the table. "They'll be the second casualties of this man-hunt."
"We're making more causalities than we need, Hu," Wu Nang said. "Even if we manage to go head to bill with Dead Shot Duck, we would need soldiers. He managed to take on our fathers all at once."
"It's been years."
"Not that many. We were still learning to hold a sword when our parents died."
"We have the animal power, Wu Nang!"
"But do we have sense!?"
"Enough!" Hu shouted, making the raven tremble her feathers. "We're moving the troops to the Shang Depression. No more hiding. No more spy work. No more fighting. And no more stories of this man's glory!" Hu chucked the dagger at the door, embedding the blade into the wood.
"Yep, that's Hu's son," Zeng mumbled.
"We will bring this man to justice," Hu said.
"It's a hasty-"
"I'm sick and tired of your plans, Cheng Long," Hu cut off, "No more of your lengthy plans and deception. We have the opportunity. Let's just get it. right now, I'm with Shang Lu on this."
"That might be dangerous."
"But it's necessary. We'll move tonight."
Zeng narrowed his eyes. "Where is Shang Lu?"
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Tigress and Zeng. Tigress, being stronger, quickly grabbed the hand and threw it through the door, smashing it to pieces. Tigress had thrown him in and broken the table. It was Shang Lu. Now, everyone had a clear view of the two warriors.
Zeng groaned, "Did you have to take him down like that?"
"It was effective."
"And loud!"
The shocked Generals immediately grabbed their weapons as Cheng Long helped the yak up.
Hu was the first to grab his dagger from the smashed door. "Well, the murderer and coward finally revealed himself, Dead Shot Duck."
"Hu Jr," Zeng muttered. "You're the spitting image of your father."
"Hmm, I wouldn't know that. I didn't know my father for long," Hu grunted. Zeng took a heavy sigh, readying his bow. "And Master Tigress. You would defend this murderer?"
"It's... complicated," Tigress smirked.
"Okay, you can not use my excuse for this," Zeng griped.
"So it is an excuse."
"Shut up."
"I must say, even after all these years of hiding, you're much sprier for your age," Hu grumbled, ready to attack.
Zeng rolled his eyes, grabbing something from his pocket. "I'm not that old, Kid. And we don't have to do this. You don't know everything-"
"We know enough!" Shang Lu bellowed. "You killed our parents! The very people you called friends! And now you're about to get your justice.
Zeng sighed, "Po was right. One out of a thousand." He threw a smoke bomb to the ground, clouding the room with smoke.
"Get them!"
"Come on!" Tigress and Zeng darted out mound.
"What's the plan?" Tigress asked, crawling out through the hatch door.
Zeng grinned nervously, "Honestly, kind of winging it."
"Zeng."
"Hey, I'm making a plan as we go."
"This is not the time to act like Po!"
"At least I had the framework down!"
"What were you planning on doing here?"
"Talking to them!"
"RAAHHH!" The yak burst through the wooden hatch and the four generals sprawled out of the mound.
"They're not willing to talk."
"Then we fight," Zeng said gravely. The Generals stood on the opposite side, not far from the two fighters.
"You'll pay for what you did to our parents," Hu grumbled.
"Trust me, kid," Zeng grunted. "I pay for that moment every day of my life."
"Why have you brought Master Tigress into your villainous plans?" Shang Lu bellowed.
"To show you what will happen," Zeng said. "If you kill me, she'll take revenge on you. If you kill her, the Dragon Warrior will take revenge on you. By that time, you'll probably have kids who will try to kill the Dragon Warrior. And again, and again, and again! Revenge has gotten me NOWHERE!" Zeng pointed to the goat. "Your father taught me that from the very beginning when bandits hurt my wife! I killed masses of those bandits just for their sons to take their fathers' places! Do you see how this whole thing ends!"
"Enough!" Shouted Shang Lu.
Claws first, Wu Nang flew at Tigress as Cheng Long sprung at her. Dead Shot dodged Shang Lu's club while Hu struggled to get his dagger through the duck's body. Another swing from Shang Lu's club, and the duck darted up the club and whacked the big yak with his bow. Shang Lu fell down while Zeng pulled out a dagger and clashed with Hu's.
"Shang Lu's down!" Cheng Long shouted. Wu Nang flew over to help, but Tigress jumped out, grabbed her wings, and threw her into the fox. Tigress ran up the hill to Zeng. The yak bodyslammed her, making her tumble back down. She opened her eyes. Shang Lu's club rose high in the air about to crush her.
Zeng glimpsed back, threw a smoke bomb, and disappeared. Shang Lu's club stopped just inches from Tigress's face as a knife to the yak's throat prevented him from moving any further. Zeng's wing held Shang Lu's club, stopping him from simply dropping it on her. But the yak wouldn't even if he tried. Tigress could barely see it, but Shang Lu looked deep into Zeng's glowering and enraged eyes. "Grgh!" The yak couldn't move. He wouldn't. Aside from the knife, the absolute rage in Zeng's eyes scared him stiff.
"If so much as a splinter from that club ends up on that tiger's fur, you will be gutted and flayed into a new type of bok choi yak meal. Do you understand?!" Zeng grunted in a low, hardly controlled voice. No one could rival such fury except Tigress.
Suddenly from the smoke, Hu charged from around the yak. Zeng kicked Shang Lu back and off of Tigress and clashed blades with Hu again. Tigress rolled out of the way. Wu Nang and Cheng Long blocked her way again as the goat and duck fought.
"I have to ask," Zeng gasped as Hu took a slash. "Why use my old hideout?"
"Hideout?! " Hu shouted, thrusting his dagger near Zeng's head. The duck blocked it and jumped back. "This is the place where our fathers were killed. Don't you remember?"
"No... it's not," Zeng said heavily. "There's a lot you don't know, kid."
"Like you would know," Shang Lu growled as his club slammed into the ground. Zeng jumped out of the way, clashing with Hu's blade before ducking another slash. He kicked Hu back and threw a knife at Shang Lu's hand, knocking the club out.
"Actually, I do." Zeng continued. "And I'm telling you this isn't where they died. You found these tunnels underneath a burned-down house, didn't you?"
Shang Lu and Hu glanced at each other. "How...How do you know?"
"Like I said," Zeng said, pulling out his swords. "You don't know everything."
Meanwhile, Tigress struggled with the raven and fox. Cheng Long's Naginata made it hard to fight while Wu Nang's claws threatened to peck out her eyes.
Suddenly, Wu Nang looked back, seeing Hu and Shang Lu cornering Dead Shot. "We have to help the others!" Wu Nang flew in through Tigress's defenses and flapped her wings. The dust blinded Tigress. Cheng Long knocked the tiger down the hill. The two charged back up to fight the duck.
Zeng was cornered on each side. Each of the generals had their weapons. "It's over. You're cornered, coward!" Shang Lu exclaimed. They all charged him.
Hu's dagger clashed with Zeng's swords, knocking out one of them from the duck's hand. Zeng punched the goat back and took a swipe out of Hu's outfit. Shang Lu's club swung in from the right. Zeng ducked and sliced the wooden part. He kicked the yak in the leg, jumped, and slammed his foot across Shang Lu's face while he blocked Cheng Long's naginata with his sword. Wu Nang's claws cut Zeng's wings and the other sword tumbled out of Zeng's hands. The duck jumped onto Cheng Long's Naginata, took his bow, and shot through Wu Nang's wings, knocking out a large chunk of feathers. His webbed foot kicked Cheng Long in the face, knocking the fox back. As Dead Shot's feet touched the ground, he came neck to knife with Hu's dagger.
"This... this ends now," Hu panted as the others clumsily and quickly got up. "Seems like justice will win out," Hu said.
Zeng sighed, feeling Cheng Long's naginata point into his back, "Funny, I was gonna say mercy would win." The duck smiled. "Shows what I know."
Continued...