SMASH!
Po's fists glowed a golden aura as he thrust them at every boulder he passed, sending pieces of rock flying.
"Yes!" Po yelled, despite the fact he was using up his air fighting for breath. He had been running non-stop and his stamina was rapidly depleting. It was unbelievable that this was happening when he was actually running down a slope.
The glow in his paws flickered and went out.
"Come on!" Po said, panting. "Concentrate… Keep the chi… in your paws… you gotta… master this… before you… face that thing!"
He had come up with the idea of focusing the hero's chi in his paws to increase their punching power after wondering how he was going to face the Yeti if his first plan didn't work. He'd quickly found that it was a lot harder to focus the chi during a fight or running than when you were sitting still and holding your paws to a bloody wound.
Po's paws flickered, yet went out again.
"Oh come on!" Po said. If he had some rope on him, he could have done some mid-run practicing of the Golden Emperor's Fu Dog Frenzy. The fortress was in sight. It would still take an hour, two at the most, for him to get there. "Hold on… guys… I'm coming…"
When Crane, Viper and Mantis finally reached the fortress, they were appalled at the sight of the burning hole in the outer wall. Several of the small huts were on fire, and most of the soldiers were fighting to put it out.
"What the heck happened here?" Mantis yelled.
No-one seemed to notice him.
"Let's just find Master Shifu." Viper said.
The threesome rushed to the entrance to the main building, and stopped short when they heard someone familiar shouting at them.
"Where the hell have you been!" Eagle Jr. stormed over to them, looking livid.
"Long story!" Crane said. "Where's Master Shifu!"
"He and Emperor Xian went back inside!" Eagle Jr. said.
"They're in danger!" Crane yelled. "We've got to find them!"
Suddenly they heard a muffled rumble. Eagle Jr. turned pale.
"That came from inside." He said. "Get in there, now!"
They practically flung themselves at the large double doors, only to bounce right off it.
Eagle Jr. and Crane struck at the doors again and again, but they held firm.
"What the- someone's barred the entrance!" Eagle Jr. was enraged.
Now what?" Viper asked.
"Hey, what about that window?" Mantis pointed up at a window high above them. "If someone's light enough I can throw them right up there!"
Eagle Jr. immediately turned to Crane and Viper.
"You're a small snake and you're skinny. You two will do."
"What about you?" Crane asked, a little insulted.
"In case you haven't noticed, not only is my wing still badly broken, I'm not exactly mere feathers and bones like you, and someone has to be a leader to these soldiers!" Eagle Jr. replied. "Now shut up and get ready!"
"I'm first." Viper said. She straightened herself into a scaly spear shape, allowing Mantis to fling her in a straight arc through the window.
"Once we get the fire under control we'll try to find a way in ourselves!" Eagle Jr. "Now get a move on!"
Crane gulped. He curled himself up as small as possible and struggled to stay still as Mantis lifted him.
"I'll climb up after you." Mantis said. "But don't waste time waiting for me, okay?"
Crane nodded.
"Brace yourself!" Mantis flung Crane with all the strength he could muster. Crane flew through the air like a ball, which Crane found a lot less enjoyable than when he was using his wings, and then he was through the window and crashing into the floor.
"Crane!" Viper slithered quickly over to him.
"I'm fine." Crane replied, even though his injured wing was hurting like heck. "Come on! Shifu and Xian need us!"
"Alri- Hey, Crane look!"
Crane followed Viper's pointed tail, and saw the hat Princess Haoxin had given him leaning by the bed. They had ended up in Crane and Po's bedroom.
"Take it with you." Viper said. "It's bound to come in handy."
The metal and deadly sharp rim of the hat shimmered as Crane picked it up and put it on. Then he and Viper rushed out the room.
Di Tan woke up to the floor shuddering under his body.
The back of his head throbbed and his wings felt shaky.
Di Tan struggled to get up. He vaguely wondered what had happened to his hat.
"Oh no."
He felt his heart nearly stop as he saw the empty table.
"Oh no… Su!"
Di Tan spotted his kitchen knife lying on the floor. He picked it up and rushed into the mess hall. He hoped to high heaven that those brutes hadn't gone too far-
Smoke drifted in the air. Di Tan smelled burning wood. He heard a second explosion, much farther way than the first.
"What in the world?" Di Tan whispered. Despite the smoke the air was clear enough that he could breathe without coughing. He heard a grunt coming from his right.
Di Tan gasped and rushed over to Shifu's side. The red panda was lying flat on his back. His fur was scorched in several places and one of his ears was crooked.
"Master Shifu!" Di Tan cried. "Master, what happened?!" he asked, though he could correctly guess that an explosion had just occurred.
Shifu blinked several times as he slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. Slowly, painfully, he reached up to his chest. Di Tan gaped when he saw a piece of splintered wood protruding from Shifu's chest.
"Oh no… oh my goodness." Di Tan spoke. Then he blinked as Shifu merely yanked out the piece of wood. There was no blood whatsoever.
"Shifu, what…"
"The next person to say that lucky charms are hokum will be tossed down the stairs." Shifu said this with a smirk as he reached beneath his robes and pulled out a large gold medallion. There was now a new, second dent to go with the older one.
"Master Shifu, something terrible has happened!" Di Tan cried. "Tujiu and Sao! They've-"
"Taken Su, I know!" Shifu snapped. "Help me up, we've got to go after them! Where's Xian?"
"Xian? Why, I-"
There was another, weaker grunt coming from up ahead. Di Tan and Shifu turned their heads to look at the mess hall exit, where the scorch marks were at their worst.
Both their faces turned white.
"Oh god."
Shifu pulled himself up and rushed over, and Di Tan followed in a daze.
Xian was lying sprawled on the blackened ground, fur covered in scorch marks, dust… and blood. He barely moved, yet his eyes were screwed shut and he was clenching his teeth.
"Xian!" Shifu practically yelled in his face.
The red panda felt sick. Xian wasn't wearing his armor. Red wet stains were all over his chest and arms. There was no telling what internal damage had been done.
Di Tan was hyperventilating as he pulled his little apron from his pocket and wrapped it as best as he could around Xian's arm, which was absolutely drenched.
"This is all my fault!" Shifu spoke as he ripped off his grandmasters robe and tried to choose a spot to press it too.
"Stop that…"
Shifu and Di Tan froze. Neither of them had realized that Xian was conscious.
"Not… your fault…" Xian's voice wasn't faint, but it was clipped and he seemed to be trying to keep the pain from being obvious.
"Xian, does anything feel broken?" Di Tan asked frantically. "Can you feel anything?"
"Nothing broken…" Xian replied. "And I can feel my legs just fine."
Di Tan gasped in relief.
"Stop Tujiu… go…"
Shifu was at a total loss.
"But what about- we have to get you to a doctor…" He started, but his thoughts kept returning to Su and her captors.
The fire consuming several tables and chairs was beginning to spread to the other furniture. Xian couldn't stay here, especially in his current condition. Shifu thought hard. Neither he nor Di Tan had the physique to get Xian out the room without worsening his condition.
Just then the two people he wanted here right now burst into the room. Crane was bearing a bandaged wing like Eagle Jr. and was wearing his metal rimmed hat, and Viper was still in her white coat.
"Master Shifu! What happened here- oh my god!" Viper gasped at the sight of Xian.
Shifu's heart leapt at the sight of two of his prized students standing alive and well, and he was tempted to smile, but then he remembered that there was a seriously injured emperor lying right in front of him.
"Tujiu tried to blow us all up, that's what happened here!" Shifu snapped. "Help me get him out of here before the smoke gets too thick! Crane, help him up!"
Xian's legs were not as injured as the rest of his body, so it was relatively easy for Crane to pull Xian to his feet, even though he only had one usable wing and Xian was in a lot of pain.
"Crane, Viper, do either of you know where the nearest medic is?" Shifu demanded as they all began heading for the exit.
"They're all outside dealing with the explosion!" Viper said.
"Then get him outside!" Shifu yelled. "He needs a doctor now!"
"Shifu…" Xian spoke. "Tujiu… you have to find him."
"I know!" Shifu replied. "I'm going after them now!"
Shifu rushed ahead of the others and reached the door first.
"Master Shifu, where are you going?" Crane yelled.
"I'm going after Tujiu!" Shifu yelled. "Get Xian outside now! Di Tan, stay with them!"
Di Tan nodded. Shifu rushed out the door.
Crane and Viper glanced at each other.
"Viper, his arm won't stop bleeding." Crane said as they continued to make their way towards the door. "Could you-"
"On it!" Viper curled her body around Xian's upper arm and squeezed just enough to stop the worst of the bleeding.
"Thanks…" Xian grimaced from the snake constricting his already wounded arm.
"You're going to be okay." Viper said soothingly. "We're on our way to find a medic. You're going to make it through this."
"Di Tan, get the door." Crane said.
Di Tan did as he was told. Crane helped Xian through the doorway, then gestured for Di Tan to shut the door to keep the fire from potentially spreading further.
Xian let out a loud grunt as they slowly made their way down the hall.
"Di Tan." Viper spoke as a sudden thought struck her. "Where's Su?"
Su curled up even tighter in Sao's arms as blinding pain continued to assault her head.
"We're almost there, sir." He said.
Tujiu didn't reply. He appeared to be torn between stopping and continuing. Sao sensed that something was up. For the first few minutes after they blew the emperor and the grandmaster up, Tujiu had been cackling with glee now that his revenge had been fulfilled. But now the giggling and gleeful mutters had ceased, and Tujiu's expression was filled with doubt. Sao hoped that he wouldn't try anything stupid. When the time comes for Sao to fulfill the task given to him and kill the mad general, he wanted it to be in an isolated area where there would be no chance of interruption.
They continued down the library corridor with their little hostage, and eventually stopped at a spot in the wall.
"Keep an eye out, colonel." Tujiu spoke, then began feeling around for the concealed switch.
"Hurry, sir." Sao said. "Someone will have bound to have discovered the bodies by now."
Su flinched in his arms again. Sao sighed in frustration. He should probably be grateful that the girl was in no condition to be a complete nuisance. What in god's name was wrong with her, anyway?
Tujiu pushed on a spot on the wall and another stone door slid open.
"It's a good thing that we're the only ones who know about this." Sao said. Keeping a firm hold on the girl, Sao stepped through the doorway. "If we hurry, we can activate the system before the Yeti… sir?"
Sao turned around when he realized that the ex-general had not followed him inside. The vulture was still standing in the corridor, and staring down the way they had just come. He was muttering to himself. He seemed afraid.
"Sir, what are you waiting for?!" Sao snapped. "Let's go!"
"We have to go back."
"WHAT?!"
Tujiu's eyes narrowed.
"I didn't see him die… I have to see him die."
"Are you insane?" Sao whispered in disbelief. "Yes, you are! Of course Xian's dead!"
"No!" Tujiu roared. "I have to see his body! I have to make sure he won't come back!"
"Come back?! What, you think that if you don't make sure he's dead, he'll become a zombie?" Sao asked angrily. "Forget him! We have a mission to complete!"
"If he comes back, he will destroy everything!" Tujiu retorted. "We're going back, colonel! That is an order!"
Sao was silent. This was he had been afraid of. The death of Emperor Xian was all that mattered to the vulture now.
He remembered his sword, but doubted that he would be able to let go of the girl and unsheathe it before Tujiu figured out what he was doing to countered him.
"Well?" Tujiu snapped. "Let's go!"
Sao looked at Tujiu. Then he looked down at the girl. He remembered the task Hei Nuwang had given him. It didn't take long for him to decide what was important.
Sao let one arm go from the girl. He fixed Tujiu with a look of pure contempt.
"That is a stupid idea."
And then he slammed the stone door in Tujiu's face.
Shifu turned the corner just in time to see Sao shut the passage door closed, sealing Tujiu outside.
There was a pause, then Tujiu gave a guttural roar of rage, cursing Sao's name and leaving deep gouges in the stone with his talons.
"TUJIU!" Shifu yelled and launched himself at the vulture.
Tujiu spotted Shifu just in time and launched himself into the air with his wings, making Shifu miss by a couple of meters.
"I KNEW IT!" Tujiu screamed. He seemed to completely lose it in that moment, screaming curses as he flapped away.
Shifu's first thought was to go after him, but then remembered where the second fugitive had gone, almost certainly with Su in his clutches. He rushed to the place where the door was, but just like before he was unable to budge it. He pounded on the wall in frustration. How many times was he going to fail her?
Shifu spun round and leaned against the wall. He had no idea what to do. Sao could be anywhere in the building now, and Shifu had no idea where any other passage entrances were… except one.
Shifu took off down the hall, praying for Su's sake that his hunch was right.
Sao rushed into the dark hidden room that overlooked the massive mechanisms that seemed to make up the heart of the system and shut the door behind him. He had to hurry.
He set the girl down on the floor and rushed to the stone block full of levers. He had no idea if they still worked, but he would find out soon enough.
He ignored the girl's whimpering and reached for the biggest lever in the center of the block. It was so different from the rest that he was sure it was the activating switch. He pulled the lever.
The sound was deafening as the gargantuan gears came to life, shedding dust and cobwebs as one after another they began turning. Metallic clanking sounds filled the air as the fortress came to life.
Finally, after so long, the fortress's defense system was once again active.
Viper's green scales lost their color as Di Tan reluctantly told her the bad news.
"Viper, she's going to be okay!" Crane quickly said before she started freaking out, even though he too was appalled. "Shifu's gone after them! She's going to be okay! But right now, we have got to get Xian to a medic!"
"But Su…" In her near panic, Viper slightly loosened her grip on Xian's bloody arm.
"Don't you dare let go of his arm!" Crane yelled. Viper quickly tightened her body again.
"I'm sorry." She said meekly.
"I'm scared for Su too, but you have got to trust that Shifu will be able to save her." Crane said. "Now let's get Xian out of here before he gets worse!"
Xian was having more and more trouble standing up as they walked.
"Keep going, you're doing great." Crane kept speaking as he, Xian and Viper neared the end of the corridor. "You're doing great Xian, keep going. Keep going, Xian. Keep going. Keep…"
"If you don't mind… I'd like some quiet time." Xian said.
"Sure, okay. Just keep going." Crane said.
"Say that one more time and I'll break your other wing." Xian muttered.
"Sorry." Crane became quiet. "Viper, how's his arm?"
"Not good." Viper said. Her body had little trickles of blood all over it. "That explosion may have damaged an artery, but if I keep cutting off the circulation to his arm he may lose it."
Crane grimaced.
"Don't worry, Xian." He said, just in case the bad news was scaring him. "We're almost there."
They turned the corner. There was the door to the entrance hall, thirty feet down.
Crane sighed in relief, and he began helping Xian down the corridor… but then stopped.
"Crane?" Viper asked, while Xian remained silent.
"Do you hear that?" He asked.
"What-"
"Shush!"
Viper sealed her lips, and then she heard it. A faint metallic clanking that they could hear behind the walls.
"What was that?" Viper asked. "That sounded like one of Taotie's machines."
Crane didn't answer her. He stared hard at the corridor in front of them. He noticed things that seemed out of place for an ordinary corridor. There were hair thin grooves in the floor. A small crystal dangling from the ceiling reflected faint light beams on a spot on the floor right in front of them.
"Something's changed." Viper said, repeating exactly what Crane was thinking. "I've been down this corridor before, but now it feels… different."
"Xian, I'm going to set you down for a moment, okay?" Crane said.
"Okay. Whatever." Xian said. He grunted loudly as Crane set him down by the wall.
"Shout if he gets worse." Crane told Viper, then cautiously approached the space in front of him.
He took in the faint light beams. They would be unnoticeable to a person if they weren't paying full attention. He smelled a trap.
Crane reached out with one foot and thrust it into the light.
He leapt back as the floor opened up before him and a horrendous clanking sound filled the air. In the dark pit that had come out of nowhere, he saw evil, rapidly spinning blades partly rusted with age. He felt queasy at the thought of what could have happened if he hadn't sensed the danger.
"Where the heck did that trap come from?!" Viper was astounded. "That wasn't there before!"
Crane backed away from the trap. The floor sealed up again, and the sound of the horrible blades ceased.
"Wait…" Viper said. "Didn't Colonel Sao say that there were disabled traps all over the fortress? I thought he said that they were no longer in working condition!"
"Obviously he lied!" Crane said angrily. "And now he and Tujiu have decided to set them off to kill us all!"
"Or the Yeti did." Viper added.
Crane seethed, and Viper looked equally furious. If every trap in the fortress was now active, then they would have a much harder job getting Xian some medical attention.
Speaking of Xian…
"Uhhh…" Xian slumped against the wall, eyes screwed shut.
"Emperor!" Viper cried. She uncoiled her tail from Xian's arm and slightly smacked him.
"Viper! You can't do that to the emperor!" Crane cried. Viper ignored him.
"Wake up, Xian!" She snapped. "Don't you dare pass out on us!"
"I'm not unconscious yet." Xian muttered. His other, less injured arm was curled around his chest, covering some of the red stains.
"Good." Viper said. She turned her head to glare at Crane.
"What are we going to do now?" Viper demanded. "You can't fly us over that trap with your wing, and we can't go back the way we came!"
Crane looked at Xian. He looked at the deadly corridor.
"Why don't you just disarm the damn thing?" Xian said irritably. His body slumped over, but he managed to balance himself with his arm before he ended up completely on the floor.
Crane rushed back to his side.
"Just hang in there, Xian." He said. It wasn't good. Xian's arm was completely soaked, and there was blood dripping onto the floor. "Viper, do you think you can get into the mechanism and disarm the trap?"
"You'll have to set it off first, so I can get in." Viper said. She looked hesitant. She was looking at Xian's arm, which she was still constricting tightly.
"I can hold his arm while you take care of the trap." Crane said. "Make it quick."
Viper nodded. They were close enough to the light beams that Crane could reach out and penetrate them with his wing.
The floor opened up once more.
"I can see an opening!" Viper said at once. "Okay, on three… one…
"Wait, Viper!" Crane said. "There's something I need to tell you-"
"Two… three!"
Viper uncoiled herself from around Xian's arm and sprung into the pit. Crane yelled but kept his head long enough to press his foot to Xian's arm. The tiger growled in pain, then fell silent.
The two didn't speak for a while. Xian's gaze seemed to be focused entirely on his knees, while Crane kept his eyes on the pit, waiting for Viper to return. A part of him was tempted to jump in there himself. Not that he didn't trust that Viper could handle it, but the thought of her being torn apart by those blades… he thought of the horrible vision Ember had shown him, and he felt nauseous.
The blades made so much noise it sounded like broken laughter, but when Xian spoke Crane could hear him clearly.
"Did you know… that Tujiu is responsible for the death of my family?"
Crane stared.
"No. I didn't know that. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. Just promise me that if I don't make it… you will at least make sure he pays for what he has done."
"You're not going to die!" Crane said angrily.
"I order you to promise me."
"Okay, I promise."
"Good. Can I… tell you about them?"
"You mean your family?"
"Yes."
Crane nodded. If he kept Xian talking, it could help him stay conscious for longer. He glanced once more at the pit in worry.
"My wife was called Yujin." Xian said. "She was beautiful… and I mean beautiful. She was actually the reason why I decided to… break tradition…"
"She sounds like a great woman." Crane agreed.
"My son was born a few months before that night…" Xian went on. "I never got chance to raise him… he never reached the age where he understood what I mean whenever I say… I love you…"
"That's rough." Crane said.
"I was only ever married to Yujin… for two years… I never got the chance… to tell Yujin… how happy she made me." Xian looked away. When he looked back at Crane, his eyes were narrowed.
"I've seen the way you eye her…" He gestured to the pit. "And I've seen the way Po looks at Tigress… I used to eye Yujin like that when we first met."
Xian's eyes looked very wet. Crane's heart felt very heavy at that moment.
"Xian…" Crane began.
"Tell her!" Xian spoke suddenly. "When this is over, I want you to tell her how you feel! And when you see Po, I want you to tell him to do the same! I'm not asking, Crane. I'm ordering."
Crane hesitated.
"Okay." He said.
He turned his head to look at the pit. Viper had not yet returned.
"If she doesn't come out in five seconds, I'm going in after her." Crane said. "Do you think you can keep the pressure on your arm for a few seconds?"
"I can't do much else." Xian said.
"Okay… five… four… three… two…"
There was a crunching sound, and the blades slowly but surely slowed to a stop. Viper sprung out the pit and back onto safe flooring moments before the floor sealed up again.
"That should do it!" Viper looked a little out of breath. "How's he doing?"
"Fantastic." Xian said. "Help me up so we can get the hell out of here."
Viper curled around Xian's arm once more. Crane helped him up, deep in thought, and they resumed walking.
Shifu deflected one dart after another with his staff in mid-somersault. And then another, and another.
He had escaped the main building by leaping out a window, and ignoring the soldiers as he ran, entered the right hand tower. If he could just make it to the top, he had a chance.
He had been running through the prison at top speed when the darts came out of nowhere. Still battered from the explosion, Shifu had barely been able to fend the darts off, and at one point one managed to graze his shoulder.
What was going on? Shifu had thought that the traps were no longer in the condition to operate. He guessed that Tujiu had lied about that as well.
With a final leap, he reached the stairway to the foundry, escaping the darts' range. He let out the breath he had been holding and made his way upwards.
He reached the foundry. He looked around at the many walkways and the vats full of molten metal. He saw no sign of any traps.
Cautious all the same, he took one step forward.
He leapt into the air to dodge the curved blade that swung at him from beneath a walkway.
He landed back on the ground in time to see another blade coming right at his face, and he raised his fist to counter it.
SMASH!
A green blur smashed through the blade, shattering it like pottery.
"Mantis!" Shifu's heart leapt. Another student alive and well.
But Po and Tigress were still missing.
"Master Shifu!" Mantis replied. "Where are Crane and Viper?"
"They're with the emperor!" Shifu said. "Colonel Sao has taken Su, and I have to get to the mechanical room! Help me get past these traps!"
"Sure thing!"
Mantis and Shifu stood by side by side, more than ready to take on the blades that swung at them again and again.
Ember had loved puzzles.
When she built the fortress through her power alone, she had hidden many of its secrets through clever little puzzles in order to confuse her enemies. The astrolabe had been one of her favorites, as was the puzzle the Yeti was about to solve in just a few moments.
The Yeti sliced through the last of the crushing stone traps with his blade and stepped into the sarcophagus room. He wondered how Tujiu and Sao had found the defense system room. He felt tempted to laugh at the fact that they had assumed that traps alone would be enough to stop him.
He strapped the blade to his back and made a beeline for the doorway Ember had opened with the girl's assistance. Inside was a tiny space no bigger than a cupboard. He pulled out a solid gold table shaped object, with five identical legs and a large red gem on the square plate.
The Yeti smirked. He could imagine the look on Tujiu's face if he had opened the door, found the object, and realized that he had no clue what it was for. It would have really bruised the bird's pride.
The Yeti walked over to the sarcophagus. He set the object legs first into the square shaped indentation.
Five hidden, small circular indentations, perfect fits for the legs, sank into the stone surface, until the object had completely sunk.
The sarcophagus shuddered slightly, and then slid to the side. In it place was a stone stairway leading down into darkness.
"It's almost time." The Yeti whispered, elated that finally he was going to reap the rewards of all those years he had spent alone in the mountains, protecting his mistress at all costs.
He descended down into the darkness.
Sao leaned against the stone block of levers. The door was sealed, and the girl was secure. Now all he had to do was wait for everyone to die.
"Wha…"
Sao turned his head. The girl was still on the floor, but now she was struggling to get up. It seemed that whatever sickness had stricken her was beginning to pass.
"What's…" Su stared straight at Sao with eyes rimmed red with fresh blood. "What's going on? Where am I?" She gasped in pain and clutched her head.
"Be quiet." Sao turned back to the rail and gazed out at the mechanism before him.
"What are those levers?" Su asked.
"If you must know, it's the fortress's defense system."
"Defense system?"
Sao sighed. He doubted that a little girl would know what the words defense and system meant.
"Defense…" There was another gasp. "No! Mr. Sao, you can't! You'll kill them!"
Well what do you know?
"That's the idea." He replied coldly. "Now be a good girl and shut up."
"Turn it off!"
"Shut up."
"You can't do this! Turn the traps off now!"
"I said shut up, you little brat!"
"Turn off the traps!"
Sao spun round, pulled out his sword, and aimed it right at the little girl's face. Su, who by now had managed to stand up but was swaying slightly, fell silent. She stared at the blade with wide blue eyes, and then began to cry.
Sao grimaced as the girl began rubbing her eyes, crying loudly and obnoxiously.
"Quit your crying!" Sao snapped.
The girl cried louder.
"For god's sake…"
Sao lowered his sword and grabbed the girl's wrist, causing her to look up.
Her eyes were devoid of tears, and furious.
With a shout, she shot her other fist straight as Sao's face before he realized that he had let down his guard.