Chapter Five- Warlock vs. Warriors

Narrisa made a fireball in her hand and launched it at the six warriors. They scattered, the fireball making a black circle where they were.

"Would you hold still?" Narrisa said. Her voice was definitely different; it was that of a man's and it sounded like pure evil.

"You're not Narrisa." Tigress said, resuming her stance. "Who are you?"

"I'm a warlock." Narrisa said. "My name is Dai."

"Why take over Narrisa's body then?" Viper asked. "If you already know magic?"

"My magic isn't enough." Dai said. "Narrisa had more power than I could ever imagine. And with that power, I'll finally destroy you all!" Dai shot another fireball. Everyone had to scatter again.

"Spread out!" Tigress yelled. Everyone obeyed, but Dai kept launching shot after shot at them, some fireballs, others ice bombs, and still others were smoke bombs.

Mantis climbed a pillar and tried to dive bomb the warlock. Dai hit him away. Monkey and Viper moved in for a combo attack. Dai blasted them backwards into the wall. Crane swooped down from above and Tigress rushed forward on the ground. Dai used teleportation to move at the last second so they crashed into each other. Dai looked around for the missing Dragon Warrior.

"Must've hit him." He shrugged. "I knew my aim wasn't far off."

Mantis knew the truth; Po was hiding behind the stone table.

"What are you doing?!" Mantis cried as the others tried to fight Dai off.

"I'm hiding!" Po whispered.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to die!"

"You coward!"

"Yep." Po confessed. "That's me. The Dragon Warrior's a coward."

"Shifu wouldn't be very proud of you." Manti said. Po froze and glanced around the corner, staring at Shifu's ghostly form still tied to the column.

"What are you talking about?" Po asked.

"You told Shifu he'd die if he fought Tai Lung alone." Mantis said. "And you were right. But Shifu wasn't afraid. He knew that if he died, at least the villagers, me and the rest of the Five, and you would be safe. He didn't care about dying as long as we lived."

"You don't know that." Po said.

"Oh yeah?" Mantis challenged. "I've known Shifu for over twenty years. Shifu, Viper, and I were the fastest warriors in the valley. We went on urgent missions together. There were times, on the way back, when we'd have to make camp because of a storm, or if it got dark. We'd take refuge in a cave, make a fire, and talk. We kind of found out a lot about each other."

Po stared at the ground, listening fearfully to Tigress', Crane's Monkey's and Viper's cries of pain, a sign they were losing.

"Apart from Tigress, Viper and I know Shifu better than anybody else." Mantis concluded. "And we know that he would want us to fight hard and never give up." Mantis leaped away to join the fight. A minute later, his cries joined the others'.

Po sighed, berating himself.

"I can't do it." He said. "I just can't. I'm not strong, smart, or brave enough."

A soft breeze blew.

Po looked up. He glanced around. The wind blew again.

"I'm here." He said. "I'll listen." Po tried hard, but he heard nothing. He sighed. Then, something spoke only two words.

"Brace yourself."

Po got a firm grip on the stone table.

And a large explosion rang out.

When the sound died, Po got up. He saw the Five completely unharmed, but on the ground and staring past Dai with complete shock. Po soon found out why.

Facing Dai were two people.

One was Destiny, fuming, but alive from Dai's blow.

The other person was Shifu's ghost.

"Master?" Po whispered. Shifu glanced towards him and gave a little smile. Dai turned to him as well, steaming mad. He launched a fireball at the panda. Po, frozen in fear, braced himself. He felt a blast of hot air and opened his eyes to see a wall of fire absorb the fireball and disappear.

"You little runt!" Dai yelled at Shifu.

"It's not my fault I was born a Fire Cat." Shifu said.

"None the less." Dai said. "You and your students shall die!" Dai went for Tigress. Destiny was faster, knocking Dai off his feet. Tigress and the others joined Po behind the stone table and watched with awe as Destiny and Shifu fought. Destiny had all sorts of powers, of course. But for some reason, Shifu had powers of fire. Dai kept getting madder and madder with every blow that hit him. Then, Dai got a chance and launched a terrible punch to Destiny's stomach. The king cheetah went to her knees, hugging her stomach. Dai moved in for a kill and Shifu jumped in.

"Don't touch her." He growled.

"Stand aside!" Dai shouted, shoving Shifu to the ground. Dai was right about to lay down his blow when Tigress leaped forward and tackled the warlock.

"Come on!" she called, jumping back. The others joined her and everyone fought hard. But Dai just kept getting madder. Finally, he lost it, and he let out a burst of black energy that launched everyone backwards, slamming into the walls and pillars and kicking up dust. When the dust settled, Po was the first to emerge, realizing with horror that everyone was knocked out.

And Dai was a giant, black dragon.

Po ducked back down behind the stone table. He was shaking.

"Okay." He muttered. "One dragon vs. me and a bunch of unconscious warriors. I'm dead."

"No you're not."

Po jumped and saw Destiny and Shifu in front of him.

"I have an idea." Destiny said.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. But you'll see why in the next chapter.