Hey guys! Just letting you know that this might NOT be the last major story that I do with Po, Five, Kiro, etc. (assuming that they make it out of this one alive). Just thought that I'd put that out there. Here's chapter six…
"YOU? I PROTECTED YOU! I STUCK MY NECK OUT FOR YOU!" Kiro yelled.
"Yes, you did. I'm very pleased that you did so. Keeping me alive has helped our cause greatly." The Emperor hissed.
"Why?" Tigress snarled.
"Why? Dear Tigress, don't you see? The war on crime has already been lost! If you don't choose the winning side soon, you'll be caught in the cross fire!" The snake responded. "I consider Grandmaster Feng here a great friend of mine. Only a few know of my actual take on this matter."
"Do you have a problem with our acquaintance, Kiro?" The dragon said, looking at the still knocked out Song.
Kiro hesitated, realizing his place in all of this. "No master, anything to get rid of the Five…" Kiro looked over at the group with malice, "…and the fat panda."
The hostages were shocked. He's still furious at us?
"I'm happy to be in a place where my services and skills are wanted." The white tiger added.
"Excellent! Now, prove it!" Feng exclaimed.
Kiro blinked twice in confusion. "Prove it?"
"Yes! I want you to kill…hm…the snake!" Feng commented.
"WHAT?" The Emperor yelled, getting ready to dash for the exit.
"NOT YOU, IDIOT! THE OTHER SNAKE!" The dragon roared.
"Oh…" The serpent whispered, coiling back down into a ball.
Kiro fidgeted in place.
He doesn't want to do it. Po thought. There's still good in him!
"Do it, Kiro. Now's your chance to demolish the Five! Make them four!" The Emperor jeered.
Kiro slowly walked over to Viper, who was shaking and had tears streaming down her face.
"K-Kiro…Pl-please…" She sobbed.
The tiger's knees started shaking.
"Come forward." He said solemnly, looking down at the floor.
"Vi…No…" Crane choked, eyes watering.
Viper slithered slowly up to Kiro, who stood mere feet from Feng and the Emperor.
Kiro drew his knife from his leg and held it in his hand, which was shaking also.
"Don't do it, Kiro!" Po called out.
"SILENCE HIM!" Feng roared.
One of the guards clubbed Po over the head with the butt of his sword, sending the panda falling to the ground.
Kiro brought the knife to Viper's throat and leaned close to her ear.
"I'm so sorry. I tried not to get you guys involved in this. Do you trust me?" He whispered.
"What?" She choked back.
"You all may be masters of your own styles, but I'm the master of being reckless." He whispered back.
Viper's eyes widened.
Kiro lowered the knife from Viper's throat and leaped into the air and landed behind the Emperor, bringing the knife to his neck.
"How important is he to you?" Kiro demanded.
"Not as important as she is to you." The dragon nodded over to Song. "DROP HER IN THE LAVA!"
Song, who was still knocked out, was hanging by her feet over a pool of magma at least fifty feet wide. The rope that kept her from plummeting downward was cut, and she started to drop.
"SONG!" Kiro yelled.
He dropped his knife and ran towards her. The tiger jumped into the air and grabbed the rope, flinging her to the side to safety.
Kiro, however, didn't make it to the ledge all the way. He grabbed the side of the pit with one hand, dangling above his certain death.
Feng roared with laughter. "No choice comes without consequences! Hoon Doon, take him out!"
A giant rhino with a broken horn marched up to the dangling tiger.
Hoon Doon was a soldier from the Imperial Army who had gone rogue and tried to destroy the Valley of Peace, but had failed. Multiple times even. He was known for his broken horn on the front of his face, of which he interchanged between a regular replacement and a piece with a sword attached to it. The rhino was also known for his redundancy.
"Now, you will die a fatal death in the fires and lava with magma! Goodbye and farewell, tiger!"
The rhino raised his foot and stomped on Kiro's hand.
"ARGH!"
Another stomp.
"AAHH!"
Stomp.
"RAH!"
Stomp.
"AUGH!"
Finally, Hoon Doon grew impatient and jumped into the air, and came down on Kiro's hand with both feet.
"GAH! NO!" Kiro shouted in pain as he lost his grip on the ledge and plummeted down to the lava below.
Think fast, Kiro! Don't get burned!
The tiger whipped out his Di staffs and tapped them together once, creating a sled beneath his feet and splashed down on the lava, surfing around the pit.
A few bits of magma got onto him, burning his skin and catching his fur on fire.
"AH! HOT! YAH! AUGH!"
Kiro summoned two ropes from his staffs and latched them onto some stalagmites on the ceiling of the cave. He pulled himself out of the lava and landed in front of his shocked friends and enemies.
By now, almost a third of him was on fire, but Kiro blocked out the pain with great mental strength.
"Man, I'm on fire today!" He laughed. "So, who wants to get burned?"
That's the end of this chapter! Hope you guys liked it! I'll see if I can get another posted later tonight, but no promises! Leave a review with what you thought. Come on, a review means a lot to an author, so why not take a minute to write one? See you guys very soon! More to come…