Thank you guys for reading chapter 8 of The Story of Jinjing 2
Sorry, it took so long. I'll try to post when I can.
Don't worry, fellow readers, I'm still writing Secret Admirer.
Here's chapter 9
Chapter 9
"Fire!" Lord Shen ordered. Boss Wolf lights the fuse. Shen laughs evilly… and then realizes that nothing has happened. "Well?! Light the…. Thing!"
"I did!" Boss Wolf responses before he lights the fuse again… a flash of green douses it faster than the eye can see. Boss Wolf tries again… and again… and again… then Mantis kicks the lighter out the wolf's paw and holds it above it head like a wrestler holds a trophy belt.
"Yes!" Jinjing shouted.
"FEAR THE BUG!" Mantis yelled.
Shen stared at the cage in Po's paws… inside is Mantis's action figure. Po laughs. At the moment, Viper picks the lock and Tigress leaps free. She strikes the cuffs of her friends and Crane leaps into the air and blows the soldiers away with his wings. A gorilla collides with Boss Wolf, knocking him from view. Shen is stunned.
"Get the weapon!" Po and Jinjing said.
They spring to action. Tigress leaps on Po's back, jumps off and strikes the mouth of the cannon, flipping it in the air. Shen staggered backwards as Po leaps to him with a battle cry. Mantis and Jinjing leaps into the air and kicks the cannon in mid-air and sending it crashing hard through the floor. The cannon tumbles down the interior of the tower and smashes to pieces on the ground floor. Up above, Jinjing and the Five cheer at their success and then Jinjing ran to Po's aid.
Meanwhile, Po pins Shen to the floor. The peacock splays out his tail feathers. Po sees the red eye emblem of the feathers and…
"PO!" Jinjing shouted as she gets ready in her fighting position. He snaps out of his vision, stunned. Shen moves free and stares at the panda, breathing hard. Tigress turns and is shocked to see Po staring back, making no move to attack the evil peacock.
"You… you were there," Po said.
Jinjing turns to the Dragon Warrior, curiously. "What?"
"Yes… yes, I was," Shen smiles, satisfied. Before Po could react, Shen rushes to the balcony and leaps off the edge, flying towards the Fireworks Factory in the distance. Po, Jinjing, and the Five gather at the balcony as a shocked Soothsayer is carried away by the gorilla.
"You just let Shen get away!" Tigress said to Po.
"Well, at least we destroyed the weapon!" Mantis said.
Shen flies across the city and lands on the balcony in the factory.
"Um, did we really?" Jinjing questions the praying mantis.
"FIRE!" Shen commanded. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Next to him, several cannons are fired by gorilla soldiers.
Back at the palace, Po, Jinjing and the Five stare at horror at the flaming cannonballs flying right toward them.
"Aw, no, he's got way more," Mantis said.
"Gee, wonder what give that away?" Jinjing asked sarcastically.
The warriors are blown backward as the cannonballs explode impact with the top of the tower. Though most of the warriors are mostly unharmed, Crane holds up a burnt wing. Jinjing runs to Crane's side.
"Crane!" Jinjing yelled.
"My wing!" Crane cried out. Tigress also rushes to Crane's side.
"Watch out!" Tigress yelled.
"Po!" Viper yelled as she grabs Po's leg just as he falls through the floor. Upside down, Po finds himself staring at the floor far below. Mantis tries to help Viper pull him up.
"Help me pull him up!" Viper said.
"No…" Tigress said.
"What?!" Jinjing turns to her adopted cousin.
"Get him down! Use the ropes,"
Viper releases Po, who rapidly descends the tower interior by sliding down the lantern ropes dangling down the middle. As the other warriors descend along with him, Tigress leaps down from floor to floor, carrying the injured Crane.
At the factory, Shen watches the scene with psychotic glee. "Run, run, little panda!"
Inside the crumbling tower, Po loses his grip. Monkey screams as he ends up squished under Po's rear as they reach the floor. Po rolls away as the other warriors to join them at the bottom. Tigress sets down Crane while Jinjing rushes over to Po, grabbing his arm.
"Po, come on! We need you to focus!" Jinjing said.
"I got it, I got it!" Po said. The warriors run toward the open exit. In the factory, Shen continues to watch alongside his cannons.
"Bring it down!" Shen ordered his minions. The cannons are fired. In the palace courtyard, the wolf soldiers laugh as the tower is struck once again. Inside, debris falls and breaks the exit before the warriors can reach it.
"We're trapped!" Po and Jinjing cried.
"Jinx! You owe me dumplings and you can't speak unless someone says your name,[1]" Jinjing said.
"Aw!" Po cried out.
"This way!" Tigress said, looking at the stairs.
"Po, come on!" Jinjing yelled.
"Ha! I'm not jinxed," Po cheered. The warriors ran toward the stairs.
Shen laughs madly as the tower starts swaying. "Goodbyeeeee!"
In a higher level of the tower, Tigress smashes a hole through the interior wall. At once, they are assaulted by dozens of arrows from wolf archers.
"Get back!" Jinjing yelled. The others move back inside the building as Jinjing and Tigress deflects more arrows and leaps along the outer wall. Tigress spots the city in the distance… that and the swaying tower gives her an idea. Jinjing catches an arrow aimed at her adopted cousin's head.
"Thanks," Tigress said.
"No problem," Jinjing said. They ran back towards the hole in the wall.
"The only way is up!" Tigress told the Po and rest of the Five.
"What?!" Monkey, Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Jinjing yelled.
The tower begins to topple as Po and Tigress swing each other up the exterior, as the others climb up alongside them. They continue to scale up the tower, until the angle allows them to run up as well as climb.
Shen watches them with confusion. "Where are they going?" the evil peacock asks.
"… to the top!" Tigress and Jinjing said.
"Come on, keep going!" Viper yelled. They continue to run and climb as the falling tower heads towards the ground. A cannonball barely misses Monkey, shielding Crane's hat which he's carrying. They reach to the top…
"Here we go!" Po yelled.
And leap off the very edge. As the tower crashes to the ground, the warriors clear the outer walls, evading flaming arrows, and fall toward the city streets. They land and disappear from sight.
*KFP*
Down below, Po, Jinjing, and the Five stealthily sneak down the streets.
"This way," Jinjing said.
They stop at the corner leading to Gongmen Jail. Tigress and Jinjing peered round the corner. The two wolves guarding the door hear the howl and leap off. Oh, I wish I could take them down. Jinjing thought. The warriors quickly entered the jail, Po tumbling through. The place is empty, except for Ox and Croc still in their cell.
"You! What did you do? It's chaos out up there! What happened to stopping Shen?" Ox questions the panda. Jinjing and the Five stare at Po.
"Yeah," Monkey said.
"Hey, guys, come on. Give me a little credit! I meant for him to get away! Because, uh… it was a trick, was a plot… and I thought I might… figure his plot… more…" Po tries to explain.
"That makes no sense," Mantis said.
"I agree with Mantis on this one, Po, you had him, you did let Shen get away. We just want to know what happened with you and Shen," Jinjing pointed out.
"What do you mean… sure it does!" Po said.
Tigress steps up to Po, making the panda fall backwards on his rear. "Po. The truth. You had Shen. What happened?"
"What are you talking about, I don't know what you're talking about? I mean, okay. He caught me off guard!" Po said.
Tigress kneels down to face Po eye to eye. "The truth,"
Silence as they stare at each other. Po opens his mouth… and closes it again.
"Fine," Tigress said as she stands up. "They will keep you far from danger," Tigress gestures to Ox and Croc.
"What?" Jinjing exclaimed.
"Real far," Croc chuckles.
"What?" Po repeated Jinjing's question.
"You're staying here," Tigress said.
"But, Tigress… We need him," Jinjing protests.
Tigress starts to walk away. Po gets up and chases after her. "W-w-wait! I have to go ba—" Po said.
Tigress whirls round to face Po. A hush falls over the room. Jinjing and the Five look in fear. Po stares at Tigress.
"You're staying here!" Tigress repeated to the panda.
"I'm going… and you can't stop me!" Po said before he tries to walk past Tigress, but she grabs his arm and twists him around. He turns back to her, caught off-guard.
"Okay… I wasn't ready that time," Po said.
"Guys, don't!" Viper and Jinjing warned Tigress and Po.
"Ready," Tigress said after moving into a kung fu stance.
"Look!" Po said as he's pointing to the ceiling. Tigress doesn't fall for it- she grabs Po as he tries to slip past her and tosses him into the air. He lands on the other side of the room, and spins on his head as he leaps back to his feet, facing the wrong way. Yelling in frustration, Po rushes back at Tigress. Croc visibly winces as Tigress counters and sends Po sliding back towards his and Ox's cell.
"Stay down," Viper cautions Po.
"I have to get to him!" Po said.
"Then tell me why!" Tigress demanded.
Po hesitates… and gives in. "He was there… okay?!"
"He was what?!" Jinjing asked.
"The peacock was there the last time I saw my parents! He knows what happened… where I came from… who I am…" Po explained.
Tigress looks at him, her anger fading to a sympathetic look.
Po gets on his feet. "Look, I'm going… I have to know… the hardcore can't understand,"
He walks towards the exit. Tigress scowls at his remark. She lunges…
"Tigress, NO!" Jinjing yelled.
…and hugs Po. Po's eyes widened. Jinjing and the Five stare. Crane's beak drops.
"The hardcore do understand," Tigress says as she releases him, but keeps her paw on his shoulder. "But I can't watch my friend be killed. We're going," She walks away, moving past her cousin and the Five.
"Hey, uh… maybe you can't watch me be killed…" Crane hopefully said.
"Stop being a wimp," Tigress said.
"And… she's back. Jinjing, you are coming?" Monkey said turning to Jinjing.
"Yeah, I'll be right with you," Jinjing said before turning to the Dragon Warrior.
Po watches silently as the Five leave. He turns to Jinjing.
"How come you're not coming with them?" Po questions the female red panda.
Jinjing sighed. "I am going. I just wish that you could come with us and stop Shen. I'm also sorry about your parents, Po,"
"Thanks,"
"I wish that there's something that I can do for you,"
"You already have,"
Jinjing turns to face Po in question. "I have?"
"You've been my friend since we met and you helped me become the Dragon Warrior. I wish that I could return the favor,"
"I need to get going, I'll come back for you when this is over,"
"Be careful,"
"I will," Jinjing walked to Po, and gave him a hug. The panda hugged her back. The female red panda walks out of the jail. Po watches her leave.
Ox sighs. "Don't worry, kid… you're better off here,"
Author's Note: The line "you can't speak unless someone says your name" is a reference in Angry Birds 2 (2019). I used to play Angry Birds on my phone, it was fun. I have the Bomb pillow from Angry Birds, I still kept it.
What do you think?
Please review and read my other stories