The following Characters are owned by Ken Penders(King Gong, Dark Legion, and Lien-Da(referenced)), Ian Flynn(Shinobi Clan), Michael Gallagher(Barby Koala), Karl Bollers(Jack Rabbit(mentioned only)) JayFoxFire(Emerald the Bat), and Frank Storm(Monkey Khan, Lau Khan, Li Yuen). Also I think the four clans are owned by all of these people one way or another. If I'm wrong on any of them, please correct me.
Chapter 11: Return to the Dragon Kingdom
The moon shone dimly over the night sky, the shadow of the planet cast by its sun, blacking out a large majority of its glow. Said glow would cast about an eerie setting upon the massive dock at the edge of the Dragon Kingdom, the only other source of light from a large collection of gold colored lanterns, most of which would be scattered across the armada of wooden ships floating around it. Others would be carried by what must have been million of soldiers, each either stepping aboard the ship or loading a mass variety of weapons into the boats, from swords to the biggest cannons that could be reasonably loaded on board. The rest of the lanterns would either be hung upon the surrounding pillars of the docks, for visibility, while Gong carried a large one atop of the highest point of the dock for the sole purpose of overseeing his army and monitoring their progress.
Gong couldn't help but feel a swelling sense of pride as he continued to watch his army's preparation for the coming battle. By the end of tomorrow, the Gorilla would have succeeded in not only avenging and upholding the values of his people long passed, but also in a far greater conquest that Lau Khan, in his most wild of ambitions, would have never sought to achieve. With his militia already being one of the largest in the world, victory over the nation of Mobotropolis would be but a small feat. 'But a feat nonetheless.' Gong thought. One that would create a domino effect as the rest of the planet would no doubt attempt to challenge his new authority out of fear, spite, or an admirable but ultimately foolish sense of patriotism. Then one by one, each nation would fall before his growing empire, each fated to either join in on the inevitable expansion, or wiped from the planet without a single trace to prove it had even existed. After King Lau's father had given his past nation, save for himself, the same treatment, it was only fair that the rest of the world got it as well, if only for their failure to act.
Gong became lost in his thoughts for a moment as he would remember that fateful day. He must have been fourteen years old when he had challenged his father for his throne, and the right to rule over their entire civilization. It was the highest honor a Gorilla could achieve in those days. One that he had studied and trained himself for since the day he could move. Not only that, but he excelled in ways and in measures of brutality only expected from gladiators far older than him. By the time he was nine, he could effectively tear the head of another Gorilla clean off of their shoulders. With the use of both hands, of course. He wouldn't learn how to do it single handedly until he turned eleven.
After about seven years of straight victories, and congratulations from his father, whom he had closely watched since before he started, Gong knew he was ready for the aforementioned throne. For a battle before millions of his kind that would not only be remembered for many years to come, but also be the fulfillment of his father's, as well as that of every other Gladiator King before him, greatest wish: for his final days to be lived in glorious combat. 'An honorable death.' Gong remembered his father telling him. Surely a way of life that would seem depraved and barbaric to most. But it was theirs. And a way of life that every generation of his family had treasured.
In what was sure to be his father's final days, Gong would spend most of his time training in private. Seeing as his father had observed all of his prior battles, Gong knew better than to take the approaching battle lightly. In the time he was given to prepare, Gong decided that he needed to become far more formidable than he had been in previous fights. For starters, he would build up his endurance alongside his strength, participating in diets and a variety of physical exercises to strengthen his very bones. After two weeks, and much persistence, Gong would find himself able to punch through walls of concrete without so much as breaking a knuckle. The initial attempts had been painful, big surprise there, but well worth the end result. Gong would also take the time necessary to invent new skills, none recorded in the books of the physical arts, ancient or otherwise.
In the significantly smaller moments that he had been able to spare, Gong would choose to spare them with his father. It would be their final moments spent together, after all. Desperate as he was for this position of authority, he decided it would be less than honorable to let it be so without first doing his best to subtly let his father know that he would miss him. In many of these instances, his father would either share stories of his own past battles, stories that had given Gong much delight all throughout his young life, or sit back and reminisce over Gong's victories, only giving the boy a much sweeter sense of pride. One that even now, he didn't feel. Gong would actually remember one of these stories to be from the time his father had beaten his grandfather in the arena, recalling his proud expression that had shown only moments before his death.
Gong would then resist the urge to chuckle as he remembered the day before their fateful battle was to take place. The two must have been up for nearly the entire night reminiscing stories and memories. As many as they could cram in as they both appeared desperate for it not to end. Gong remained uncertain about whether or not his father had been teasing him when he had offered him a chance to back out of the fight, going as far as to remind him that, for the sake of ensuring each generation of Gladiator King was stronger than the last, that he wouldn't be able to hold back. Gong only ensured that he would repay his father with the same courtesy, to give him a death that would be only worthy of his legacy. His father couldn't have been prouder in that moment.
Finally, when the day had come to properly relieve his father of his burdens, Gong would feel a swell of two emotions: excitement and grief. But excitement would be the only emotion he would allow himself to show. If he was to guarantee his chances of success, he needed to do so without showing the slightest hint of weakness. For the next two minutes spent in preparation, Gong would also ensure to cover all of his physical based, donning a silver suit of armor, a square shield, and the very mace that he carried to this day.
Two minutes later, Gong would join his father in the arena, wearing enough armor in his own right to ensure that this fight would be rather interesting. Gold in color. Gong was almost certain that the armor had actually been made of gold. A fact that he now knew for certain as he was wearing it. It would also be in this same armor that his father had spoken his last words to him. "Just know that regardless of how this battle ends today, that I will always be proud of you." A sentiment that Gong mirrored, before both would charge towards the other. Both would get some good hits in. Gong remembered his father being a little slower than him in that fight, but it hadn't proven to be much of a disadvantage. He was still quite strong for his age and he had more than made use of it. But it didn't matter. With every ruthless effort, Gong only made himself twice as so. As good, no... as great of a fight as his father had put up, Gong wasn't about to break his promise. One way or another, his father was getting that honorable death.
Unfortunately, his death to come would be less than honorable. One second, the young gorilla would be grounded with a hit that had knocked his helmet off. The next, an arrow from the crowd had found its way into his fathers skull through the eyesocket. Gong remembered being so shocked in that moment that he barely had time to process the army of Mobians that charged in and slaughtered the rest of the Gorillas in the audience. For whatever reason that the latest king in the line of Wukong had decided, in that moment, to claim the land of his people, he couldn't care enough to remember. What he would remember, however, would be the image of of his father dead in his arms. From an arrow. A puny stick with an ever smaller blade at the end. And when he was discovered cradling his father? Mercy. The then King of the Dragon Kingdom had already robbed him of the right to honor his father, and in that moment they had dishonored him as well. Not giving him the right to avenge his father, but instead hospitality in the home of the very people who took away his chance to make his father proud. To give his death actual meaning as opposed to an embarrassing slaughter!
Gong would nearly shed a tear from the memory before one of his soldiers had gotten his attention: "King Gong?"
Gong would gaze over at the smaller Mobian, waiting for whatever news he had to deliver.
The mobian did his best to maintain eye contact as he swallowed nervously. "The ships are all prepped up and ready to go at your command, your majesty."
At this, Gong would finally smile again. "Good."
The tiny red vixen did her best to maintain a steady crawl in the grass, keeping to the shadows to stay hidden from the guards who patrolled the palace. Thanks to her size, and somehow despite the large belt of smoke grenades over her purple dress, she had managed to squeeze past the bars of the gates, successfully avoiding the eyesight of the people guarding the front entrance. Once the child figured that there was no going back from that point, Li Moon would take small and quiet steps up the hill leading to the palace, also keeping her distance from the massive staircase that led up to the front door. There must have been guards on that staircase with every ten steps, only furthering her resolve to not get caught. 'As if that wasn't strong enough already.' Li Moon thought as she fought to control her shakes.
To say that Li Moon was terrified to be here would have been a massive understatement. In all of her time hiding in the sewers with her friends, she had seen and heard of many unfortunate incidents inflicted on the ones brave enough to step outside and join Barby's fight against King Gong. Many of the sights unfit for the eyes of a child. At the end of almost every mission to make matters worse. To this day, she would still require adult supervision if not just the comforting arms of her father to get to sleep, in fear of the resulting nightmares. Most of them involving Li Moon herself being fatally injured. Worse still, she would sometimes dream of dying on a battlefield while Li Yuen held her hand.
But Li Moon would push these thoughts from her mind and do her best to distract herself as she crawled into a bush. A decision she knew she would regret should there be any bugs in the shrubbery, but bites would hardly compare to being caught by one of Gong's Palace Guards. Scared as she would admit being to anyone who would later care to ask, she couldn't bring herself to turn her back on her friends. Not even if she wanted to. Gong was on his way to enslave an entire country of people and he needed to be stopped. And Li Moon wasn't too young to figure that she wouldn't be able to do that without some help. Not that she planned on fighting Gong herself. Much as she wanted him taken down, Li Moon had also been smart to figure that the odds of her winning that fight were definitely not in her favor. Especially not after what happened to Ken.
From the bushes, Li Moon could see a pair of guards stationed at the front doors. Both doors, composed of gold and with red indents of a Chinese Dragon, would stand several feet high behind the guards. Higher than both, in fact. Li Moon couldn't help but wonder for a moment if their size made them hard to open. The floor beneath their feet would be composed of pure jade(Li Moon wondered if that made the ground cold) while pillars of bright red would surround the palace to support the weight of the red roof above them. The rest of the building, being a cross between a castle like Li Moon had read about in fairytales, and a pagoda, all composed of red wood with indents of gold and jade green. Also of Chinese Dragons.
The two guards standing at the front doors would both stand at about four feet high, their race of Mobian unclear as the red armor they wore would cover their faces as well as the rest of their bodies. The vixen would also notice that their armor would be the same shade of red as the very castle they guarded. If it weren't for the golden doors behind them, Li Moon might have missed them entirely. She began to wonder for a moment if that was intentional in case anyone ever got too close and they decided to sneak up on the would be intruders.
Li Moon would then look at the belt of smoke grenades with a sense of worry. The child had managed to grab them from the, luckily, abandoned base, figuring she would've needed some way of getting out of a guards grasp if one had managed to catch her. Or at the very least stun them if they managed to notice her sneaking around. Now was certainly the time to use them. If they worked. 'Will they work?' Li Moon wondered, looking back at the armored Palace Guards. Surely they had to if those people could even see out of those helmets. And really what use would that aforementioned armor be if they hindered one's sight?
Regardless, Li Moon knew that she was only wasting time worrying about this. Extra time that Gong would spend making his way towards Ken's home. The vixen took a deep breath and prepped herself for a run. A big run. She had no idea what would be waiting on the other side of that door, so she only assumed that she needed to be prepared for the possibility that once she started running, she wouldn't be given an opportunity to stop. 'Where's Sonic when you need him?' Li Moon thought with dread.
Once she had caught a deep breath and prayed for the Lord to give her the courage she needed, Li Moon would take off quickly from her hiding place, rushing towards the doors as both guards turned their heads and almost immediately noticed her. Li Moon acted fast, pulling one of the grenades from the belt and tossing it towards the guards with all her might. Much to her relief, the grenade would hit the right guard in the face before going off, unleashing a thick cloud of smoke around them. With her attempt at stunning them successful, Li Moon would next climb up onto the jade floor and rush past the disoriented guards, pushing the doors open(surprisingly not as heavy at they looked) and running into the palace.
Li Moon immediately found herself in a massive lobby with red wooden floors, tanish yellow pillars, and a large receptionist desk at the back of the room in the color of auburn brown. The red vixen would also notice a set of four elevators on either side of the room, making eight in total, with doors covered in gold. And eight more red guards, each stationed at each pillar. Much to her dislike, they had all noticed her the second she had come rushing through the doors.
Fortunately, Li Moon would also notice the elevator closest to her open. She wasted no time keeping up her current motion and rushing towards the elevator, tossing down another smoke grenade for good measure. While the other guards coughed from the smokes foul odor(Li Moon would be covering her nose to not suffer their fate), Li Moon would rush into the elevator, looking quickly at the control button and pushing rapidly on the button that read: BASEMENT. Thankfully, the door had begun closing right as one of the guards had made their way out of the cloud of smoke and had begun charging. A bit too fast for her to willingly risk waiting too long without doing something while the door was still open enough for him to fit. In her paranoia, Li Moon would quickly yank another grenade from the grenade belt, pull the pin, and toss it at the charging guard. The grenade in question would explode immediately and cause the guard to swing his fists in every random direction as the doors finally closed.
Li Moon let out a sigh of relief and sunk against the wall as the elevator began its descent. It hadn't even been a minute since her attempt to free the others had began, and there had already been three close shaves. Not to mention, much to Li Moon's misfortune, three smoke grenades left. It had certainly been a shame that the small girl hadn't found more before coming here. With how often she was using these things, not to mention the lack of any skills required to defend herself, she was going through the projectiles faster than she thought. But seeing as it was much too late for her to turn around and leave, Li Moon decided she would do her best to conserve the final three grenades. To only rely on her feet unless given no other choice.
As the elevator would only continue in its descent below the palace, Li Moon decided she would take a look at her surroundings. Maybe if she was really lucky, she could find some other means of defending herself. While the tiny vixen would, unfortunately, find no such luck, she couldn't help admiring the craftsmanship of the elevator. The walls would be lined with bamboo, the interior of green giving the small space a nice nature vibe. The floors and ceiling would be composed of bamboo as well, though more flat as opposed to the walls which gave the appearance of multiple bamboo trees being pushed together.
Unfortunately, Li Moon would find herself unable to appreciate the architecture of the small transport for much longer, the doors opening vertically to reveal a pair of Royal Guards waiting on the other side. Thinking better than to use up her remaining smoke grenades, Li Moon would roll between the two across the floor as they made a combined effort to grab her. Luckily, Li Moon had been fast enough to barely evade their grip as she took off running past them. The vixen felt an ache in her neck, likely from the unexpected pressure placed onto while supporting the rest of her body in mid-roll. She decided to worry about that later, however. For the time being, a neck in pain was the least of her concerns.
The child would then ignore the shouts from the guards, ordering her in Chinese to stop as they made haste to catch up to her, as she made her way down the long hallway of gray concrete. Admittedly a less pleasant sight than the lobby. With the cold atmosphere and the less than visually appealing setting, there was trash littered everywhere practically, Li Moon would immediately feel a rise in anxiety. Like she really wasn't welcome here. Granted she already wasn't, otherwise she wouldn't have needed to break in. Still, the girl found the current setting to be nothing short of unpleasant.
With each twist and turn down the near labyrinth of halls, the vixen would also find the number of guards chasing her to be growing rather dramatically. Though she did her best not to turn around, Li Moon had once heard that it only slowed people down, she could hear the rapid footsteps several feet behind her growing in number. She had even managed to run past several more on her way to wherever her current path led. To make matters worse, arrows would begin to shoot past her, their intentions on what to do with her once they caught her now more than clear. As if she hadn't been anxious enough.
Eventually the girl would find her way towards a metal door on the left side of the concrete hallway. Admittedly, it hadn't looked anywhere near as "inviting" as any other place on this floor, but Li Moon failed to see any other options immediately available to her. Especially not as more arrows would only continue zipping past her. One would even leave a small slit across her cheek. Regardless of what exactly was waiting on the other side of that door, surely it had to be more inviting than what she was facing currently.
Without a second thought, Li Moon made a mad dash for the metal door, ignoring the insults and threats made for her to stop. Upon reaching the rectangular structure, the vixen gripped the handle tightly and prayed that it would be unlocked before turning and yanking on it with all of her might. Thankfully, the door swung wide open, the contents of the room still not quite visible to her as she rushed inside, her hand now gripping the handle on the inside of the door. With the guards only about a foot away, Li Moon would waste no time slamming the door shut and turning the second knob on her side to lock it shut. While the locked door would certainly buy her time, Li Moon knew better than to believe that it would hold all of those guards back forever. Keeping in the mindset that her time in safety was limited, the vixen would run deeper into the larger room.
The room in question, while bearing the same walls and flooring as the rest of this floor, would be lined with black, metallic shelving units with wooden planks serving as the shelves, reaching to the ceiling. Resting on each wooden shelf would be an item of some sort. Either a weapon or a priceless artifact of some kind, each looking much too big for the vixen to use. But she continued searching while running for her own safety. At the very least, Li Moon had been hoping to find a hiding place among theses shelves. Maybe something large enough to hide behind if not an empty top shelf to crawl onto so she could watch and wait for the coast to clear. At the most, Li Moon hoped to find some more smoke grenades. Enough for her to no longer have to worry about running out.
But for a while, the vixen would still fail to find anything useful. Each shelf was stacked to the very edge with armor and weapons still much too large for her. Almost every weapon that would be an exception to this would be one of which Li Moon had little or no experience with. To this rooms credit, she would at one point find another belt of grenades. Unfortunately for her, not smoke grenades. Despite her desperation in that moment, the child definitely wasn't planning on adding murder to the list of things traumatizing her.
Li Moon practically jumped in surprise at the sound of a battering ram being slammed into the entrance, falling over and knocking a metallic purple object from the shelf next to her. The object made a loud clang as it smacked to the ground in front of her, the vixen immediately noticing what appeared to be a metal arm with a nozzle stretching out from the palm. Immediately, there would be another bang on the door. The Vixen turned her head, noticing the door beginning to dent in. Much as she wished she had more time to pick out a more appropriate weapon, the arm would be her only option. At least it would be, unless she wanted to risk fatally wasting more time.
In a hurry, Li Moon would grab the metal arm, surprised for a moment that it weighed less in her arms than the armor plating might have suggested, and point it towards the door as she quickly walked backwards and hoped that she wasn't about to hit a wall. Her hands would desperately search the arm for a lever or trigger of some kind as the guards on the other side continued to slam the large metal ram against the door, denting and breaking it further with each hit. Failing to find such a thing as the door would now be two hits away from being knocked from its hinges, the vixen would instinctively, and regrettably, yank two smoke grenades from her grenade belt, tossing one through an opening in the damaged door, and the other a couple feet in front of herself. Still gripping the arm and navigating its structure, Li Moon would take off back in the direction she had been running before.
In the midst of her retreat, Li Moon would begin to notice a collection of doors on the left side of the room, each with a barred window at the top of it. Doubtful that all the doors in this room were locked(After all, the door leading into this place wasn't), Li Moon would change course and try her luck at the door she had spotted in that very moment. Locked. She tried the next one over to her right. Locked as well. The vixen would begin to pout as she would reach locked door after locked door, frustrated that after getting as far as she had, only now did she have bad luck.
Finally, Li Moon's hand would grip a knob that turned. "Yes!" She exclaimed.
In the very next second, she heard the door being knocked down.
"Shit!"
Li Moon would widen her eyes and cover her mouth, genuinely shocked at her own carelessness. Sure, she had been stressed, and she had heard Barby say that a couple times before, it didn't mean she had to.
Making a mental note to apologize to her father later, both fathers(Li Yuen and God in case that wasn't clear) at that, Li Moon would rush into the room and close the door quietly behind her. Far away as they were, the vixen didn't feel comfortable leaving anything else to chance tonight. Especially not now that she only had one smoke grenade left. Making another mental note to use it wisely, Li Moon would then lock the door behind her and take a moment to relax.
The poor kit only realized in that moment that she was out of breath. Not to mention shaking to the point where she nearly dropped the arm. Was this what Barby and the others went through on a daily basis? Were they always this outnumbered and at risk of getting killed? Either way, it gave Li Moon a newfound appreciation for their efforts in trying to take Gong down. Especially to her dad for always talking about a better life for her and doing his best to keep her away from it. For a while, she had wondered if it was because everyone had lacked faith in her. For nothing more than being a small child. But now she knew what they meant when they said this wasn't the kind of environment for a child. She didn't want this. If she ever got out of this alive, she wouldn't dream of doing it again. Only in this circumstance, where there was really no other option. The red vixen sighed and slumped against the door, really hating in that moment that she had to be the only available option right now.
"You okay, darlin?"
Li Moon jumped and muffled a scream in her hand as she turned around to face her surprise guest. Or guests as it so happened to be, the same Rabbit and Coyote in the news report from yesterday inside a small cell, just as littered with trash as the rest of the room. The uniformed Coyote appeared to still be asleep(as to how she hadn't heard his snoring when she first stepped in here, Li Moon genuinely had no idea) while the yellow Rabbit tilted her head slightly at the fox with a concerned expression. Li Moon would take another moment to settle down, though she was genuinely relieved to have found Ken's mom and dad.
"N-no." Li Moon responded a bit shakily. "B-but I'm here to rescue you."
Bunnie chuckled. "Well aren't you a sweet little gumdrop!" The southern belle would then straighten the angle of her head as her eyes narrowed to focus on something. "Is that mah ahm?"
It would take Li Moon a moment to process the question, finding it hard to understand her with the accent, before eventually putting two and two together and answering with a shy smile: "S-sorry. I didn't know this was yours. I grabbed it on the way over and tried to use it but I don't think it works." Li Moon would gaze up at the Rabbit in worry and present the arm to her. "Did I break it?"
Bunnie gave the tiny Vixen a smirk. "Naw, it's fine, lillun. It just works for me is all."
Li Moon slumped in relief. "Oh, good."
Li Moon's expression would then turn fearful as she heard the sound of footsteps rushing towards the cell room, turning her head quickly towards the door as they got closer. 'What?!' She thought. 'How did they find us so quickly?! I thought I was quiet!' The answer presented itself just as quickly as it had formed once Li Moon noticed movement in the upper left corner of the room, noticing as the camera continued tilting in her direction. The vixen pouted and pulled the last smoke grenade from her belt. She would've said 'so much for stealth!' if that option hadn't already flown out the window several minutes ago.
The child rushed over to the cage and did her best to maneuver the metal arm past the bars. "Can you use this to get the gate open once you've gotten it back on?!"
Bunnie would keep her smile, both out of confidence and in an effort to calm the child down as she tapped her husband on the cheek. "Sure thing, miss..."
"Li Moon." The girl responded politely.
"Nice to meet ya, darlin."
Antoine, who had woken up in the midst of this conversation, would notice the arm being offered through the bars, and immediately put two and two together as he grabbed it, smiling politely and nodding at the girl. "You are having our gravity, miss Li Moon."
Bunnie rolled her eyes as Antoine helped connect the arm to the metallic socket in her shoulder. "It's "gratitude", Sugartwan."
Li Moon would only get a moment to giggle at the exchange before before jumping again at the sound of the battering ram being slammed against the door. The girl turned in horror to see that the door was already cracked, and the hinges at the other side dented. Almost enough for the guards to be able to open it. All they needed to smash it one more time, and the door would go flying from its hinges if not come swinging open. Li Moon also feared the possibility of the door hitting and crushing her as she pressed her back against the caged wall.
Li Moon could feel her optimism dwindling as she glanced back at the couple behind her, Antoine having finally gotten Bunnie's arm socket into place. Only now, the arm needed only a second to power up. A second Li Moon feared they didn't have as she turned back to the damaged door, the shadows of the guards displaying that they were once again ready to use the battering ram. Yanking the last smoke grenade from her grenade belt and aimed for the door, her intention to give Bunnie a little more time. She prayed it would give them the time they needed, in fact. But additionally, she would also pray that in the worst case scenario where the smoke grenade failed to yield the intended results and Bunnie's arm was confiscated, Li Moon also prayed, and hoped, that something would happen or that someone more capable than she currently was, would come to their rescue.
Right on time, right as the door came crashing to the ground, there would be sounds of a loud commotion coming from one of the guard's shoulder latched walkie talkies. The guards must have noticed Li Moon's fearful expression at that moment as they all would immediately drop the ram and turn their attention to the nearest guard who pressed a button on the walkie talkie. The commotion immediately became louder, the sounds of shouting and fighting being heard in the background audio as the guard radioing them shouted instructions at them in a panic. For a second, Li Moon had even thought she had heard a roar in the commotion.
"Sir! Slow down! I'm having a hard time hearing you!" The Guard answering replied.
"THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE BACK!" The guard on the other side shouted back, still in a panic. "AND THEY BROUGHT-!" The transmission was immediately cut off in that moment, visibly unsettling the collection of guards still on the other side of the doorway.
The guard holding the walkie talkie would pretend to be unfazed as he tapped it roughly on the side, and attempted to communicate again: "Hello?"
But there would be no answer, only static.
Everyone would then turn their heads towards the barred window to the left of the room as they heard yet another roar outside. Then another. Then several. The guards peeked their heads slightly past the doorway, each one trying to get a good look at whatever was happening outside. At first, they would see nothing. Only a black and mysterious setting, at first unaccompanied by anything useful. But without a doubt, the continued crashing and roaring, some of which now seemed to be louder and much closer, wasn't doing any favors for their increasing levels of anxiety and potentially fatal curiosity.
A flash of lightning would eventually reveal the source of the noises, a small collection of dragons, each of different size and all a collection of different body shapes, laying waste to many guard towers in the vicinity. In the brief flash of light, the guards could also see many soldiers, Shinobi, and Raiju attempting to take the fight to the Dragons from the ground, each guard the size of ants in comparison. Each massive reptile would also display a different set of abilities as they fought back against their inferior opponents. Some used lightning, others fire, a couple shot waves of ice from their mouths, even earth and water. In this same flash of lightning, the guards would also catch sight of more dragons approaching from the sky, numbering in the thousands.
For a moment, the guards would be stuck in silence, either unable to process what was going on, or their anxiety having reached such levels that they could simply do no more than watch the ongoing destruction.
But after a long moment, one of the guards would sneer in the direction of the Vixen and the other two imprisoned Freedom Fighters, unveiling a sword and pointing it towards them in a threatening manner. "What is this?! What has your commander done?!"
Antoine looked about as startled as they probably were under their helmets. "We are just as in ze dark as you!"
Bunnie, meanwhile, would be stuck in awe at the sight. Back during the days of the Robotnik War, Bunnie had only ever seen one dragon, one whom was occasionally used as a means of transport. And while Dulcy's occasional help in combat certainly helped, it had looked nothing like this. Even her most impressive feats, which admittedly had been achieved by accident, couldn't compare to the power on display before them. For a second, Bunnie had even wondered if there was either untapped potential for her, or even abilities at her disposal that they had no awareness of.
But Li Moon would have a growing smile on her face. Not just because of the dragons outside, or the fact that she didn't have to use her final smoke grenade. Deep in the shadows behind the alarmed guards, the girl would catch sight of two glowing, yellow irises. Something the other guards would eventually catch notice of once they heard the sounds of ominous thunder in that same direction. Bunnie and Antoine would both take notice as well as the irises would approach at a steady pace, thunder clouds proceeding ahead as a familiar shape became more visible. Eventually, smaller strands of electricity would ricochet through the clouds, finally revealing, to the guards shock, Ken as he approached slowly, his eyes narrowed as he gripped the Atom Bat in his right hand and the clouds spread apart on either side of him, still Yellow electricity would also trickle over the weapon beneath his hand, though it seemed to have no effect on him.
"Get away from the girl." Ken warned.
Two of the guards would immediately charge while all the others would stand in shock or with more fear than they had had initially. Ken reacted too quickly for the charging guards, however, striking them both across the face with a lightning fueled attack from the staff to stun them. Ken would then take advantage of the opportunity, dropping down to his side and kicking below one of the guards feet, knocking him over. Ken was back to his feet within half a second as the other guard recovered, swinging his sword and clashing it with Ken's Atom Bat. Ken struck him across the face with the other end of the staff and proceeded to deliver multiple smacks to his body with it, knocking him out with a final swing under the jaw that knocked him face-first to the ground. The other guard would be prepped to swing his sword as well, only for Ken to jump over him in a flip and smack him across the top of the head with the weapon, knocking him back down as he landed in a crouch.
Ken rose quickly back to his feet, gazing over at the other guards with a hint of warning in his still glowing yellow eyes. The guards only stared back for a moment, their intentions unclear until they separated into a pair of single file lines on either side of the open doorway and bowed to a knee. An action of which, while relieving, only succeeded in making the Monkey feel a little awkward. But Ken also figured, much to his dislike, that this was something that he would eventually have to get used to.
"KEN!"
Ken would immediately lift his head and direct his gaze towards the small red vixen that came rushing towards him, tightly hugging him upon reaching him. Feeling safe enough to take his attention off the army of guards in front of him, Ken would return the gesture with a smile and hug her back, though gently. He still had super strength and was likely stronger than before so he didn't think to apply anymore pressure than was needed. Happy as he was to have gotten to her on time, he really didn't want to suffer Li Yuen's potential wrath at the moment.
In fact, that very same Lion would enter the room immediately after, Ken giving the girl a little ruffle of the hair before she zipped over to her father and embracing him with tears pouring down her face. Ken would even catch Li Yuen shedding some tears himself. Not that Ken could blame the old cat. He supposed if his own daughter had stepped into enemy territory under the present circumstances of wanting to stage a rescue(not to mention without a means of defending herself), he supposed he would be relieved to the point of tears as well to see her alive.
"Ken?" The Monkey heard again, though this time, and much to his own surprise, from a more familiar source.
Ken quickly directed his gaze towards the cage against the wall of the room as Antoine and Bunnie gazed at him through the bars in a complete and utter shock. Ken couldn't help showing the same expression as his eyes met theirs.
"Mom? Dad?"
Antoine would practically hover Bunnie in front of the cage door as Ken made a quick approach, the Rabbit yanking the door from its hinges as he finally reached them. The Rabbit and Coyote's immediate reaction after would be to yank their son into a tight embrace, each visibly happy that the other was unharmed and, for the moment, safe.
"Ya know, when Sugartwan and I told ya that you needed to get out more, that this wasn't quite what we meant, right?" Bunnie asked with a tearful chuckle.
Ken would chuckle as well, rubbing both of his parents backs as he replied with relieved tears of his own: "Believe me, something like this was the last thing on my mind." Ken would almost immediately notice the bruises on their heads as they pulled away from each other, his face turning to concern as he asked with much concern in his voice: "Are you two okay?! What happened?!"
Bunnie would roll her eyes for a moment as her son would then place a hand over both of their bruises as if he were the concerned parent here. "We're fine, Sugarchimp."
Antoine chuckled: "Oui Oui, we Freedom Fighters have been zrough much worse zan a little flicky on ze head."
Ken, despite making a mental note to pay Gong back for that later, would then have a relived expression. "Then in that case, I'm glad you're not mad at me-."
Ken would immediately notice as Antoine and Bunnie's expressions became so stern in a way that made the Monkey cringe.
"And who was zis to tell you zat we were not being angry?!" Antoine shouted.
"Honey, let me handle this, alright?" Bunnie told her husband, patting his shoulder a moment before bellowing herself. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR CHAOSDARNED MARBLES, KID?! WHAT WERE YA THINKIN, HONESTLY?! LEAVIN FOR AN UNFAMILIAR COUNTRY FULL OF PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKIN TO KILL YA?! DO YA HAVE JUSTANY IDEA HOW WORRIED SICK WE BOTH WERE WHEN YA WENT MISSIN?!"
Ken had actually been intimidated to the point where he started to back away. Unfortunately into the paw of Li Yuen who decided it would be better to keep the boy in place for the rest of his lecture.
Ken gazed nervously back at the still disapproving Rabbit and Coyote. "Yeah, but-."
"NO BUTS, KEN MONKEY D'COOLETTE!" Bunnie snapped. "YOU COULDDA BEEN DEAD BY THE TIME WE GOT HERE AND WE'D HAVEN'T ANY WAY OF KNOWIN!"
"I know, but-."
"WHY IF I HAD MY LEGS RIGHT THIS SECOND, I'D HAVE HALF A MIND TO ROCKET A FOOT STRAIGHT UP YER BALD KEISTER!"
Ken widened his eyes. "Mom!"
"DON'T YELL AT ME WHILE IM SCOLDIN YA, YOUNG MAN!"
Ken would be ready to apologize before noticing a soldier stand up and begin to approach. "What are you doing?"
"Detaining these two for disrespecting you, your majesty." The soldier replied.
"They're my parents!" Ken shouted in a panic. "I'm allowing it!"
The soldier appeared confused for a moment, but nodded and returned to their place.
Ken turned back to his parents as Bunnie frowned with an annoyed sigh. "I just don't get it, Ken. Why couldn't you have just told us you were this nations Prince or whatever? We woulda helped you."
Ken leaned slightly against the Atom Bat, gripping it with both hands as his gaze went to the floor. "Because I didn't want you to know about it." He looked back at them anxiously. "That's not to say I didn't trust you. I know you're capable of helping out." Ken would frown then as he continued: "But I only came here to talk to Gong and negotiate. I wanted him to stop attacking me so we could go back to our normal lives. So that you'd continue to look at me the way you always have without us having to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. It wasn't until Gong refused and tried to kill me in that arena that that wasn't going to be an option for him. To him, my very existence is a threat to his position on a throne I didn't even want. One that I still don't want." Ken placed his arms on both parents shoulders and leaned the Atom Bat against himself as he noticed their stern expressions start to ease up. "And I didn't want to burden you two anymore than I already had. You've done so much for me that I just wanted to do something good for you for a change." He removed his hands with a guilt ridden expression. "But I only made the situation worse and I see that now".
"How?" Both parents asked, their expressions once again concerned.
Ken didn't meet their eyes for a moment. "Gong's a monster. He mistreats anyone with a negative opinion of his rule, and he nearly succeeded in killing the people who saved my life when I was a baby. The same people fighting to free these people from him. I have no choice but to fight for the throne or else it won't get better."
"You are wanting to fight ze Gorilla again?" Antoine questioned.
"After he nearly killed you the last time?" Bunnie asked next.
"No, I don't." Ken answered. "But I know it's what you would do if their lives were in your hands."
The two parents shared a look, both visibly worried. Neither of them had been kidding earlier when they said they had been worried sick about the Monkey. How couldn't they be? Both still remembered the day the little primate had been dropped off on their front doorstep as if it had happened yesterday. Since then, everything seemed to move too fast. From the first time he learned to walk, to his first day of school, to teaching him how to fight after getting bullied in the first year of Middle grade. Something he had grown a passion for. Now he was to fight an opponent far bigger and maybe even stronger than he was? All so he could leave them before he was ready to say goodbye?
They both looked at him as Bunnie asked: "You sure there's no other way around this?"
Ken nearly shed a tear as he answered: "I wish there was. More than anything." He paused a moment, mustering up the courage to give his next statement to both parents. "But I'm the last chance these people have at a better future."
Antoine and Bunnie shared a glance yet again, their expressions initially reluctant, though coming to a painful acceptance as they looked back at Ken.
"In that case, you'd better kick his ass good for the both of us." Bunnie responded a bit tearfully.
Ken would chuckle, finally allowing his own tears to shed as he pulled the two into another hug. "I intend to."
The three would remain in their embrace for a long moment before Bunnie smirked and whispered into his ear: "But just to let ya know, yer still grounded after this. For the rest of the year."
Ken chuckled. "That's fair." Ken would allow the embrace to last for a little longer before pulling back and turning to Li Yuen curiously. "Actually, shouldn't Gong have seen us long before now? Where is he?"
Li Moon would be the one to answer for him: "He's headed for Mobotropolis! With an army of millions!"
Ken immediately became worried. "What?!"
Bunnie would place a hand on Ken's shoulder to get his attention. "The girl's right! And he's got Sally-girl in his sights! If yet still looking for a rematch, that's where he'll be!"
At this, Ken felt that Gong had definitely crossed a line. It was bad enough that he had hurt his parents and locked them in a cage. Now Gong was threatening his home. Or his old home as it would eventually come to be. On top of that, he was seeking to conquer it via a means of political assassination. On someone who used to babysit him, no less.
Ken would immediately turn to run. "Then we've gotta go now!" Ken pointed to one of the nearby soldiers. "One of you find my mothers legs! I know better than to ask her not to help!"
"What about ze Gorrila's army of ze millions?" Antoine asked.
Ken blushed for a moment. "Right! Thanks for the reminder." He would address the soldiers again: "And send a couple of the Dragons out to get help from the Yagyu and Gossamer! Gong's got an army, so I'll need one of my own!" Admittedly, Ken wasn't entirely comfortable asking the either for help after the Bride of Endless Reach's premonition, or everything the Yagyu had suffered through two days ago, but he had seen the amount of guards that remained on the way in. Somehow, he didn't think their shirt numbers would cut it.
Ken would stop in his motion as he noticed Relic rush in from somewhere in the hall of weapons and trophies while carrying what appeared to be some kind of red cloth. "Wait!"
"Relic, Gong is on his way to-!" Ken started, doing his best not to sound impatient.
"He's still like twelve hours away!" Relic argued. "Besides, this will only take a second!"
Ken let out a huff before taking the then offered cloth from her hands, unfolding and gazing at it. Much to his dismay, the item in question wouldn't have been a shirt, something he desperately felt he needed right now to avoid his abs and pecs being exposed for all the world to see. Even if it looked impressive, he still embarrassed. Rather, the item would be what looked like two long cloths of red that would hang over his shoulders once worn, with curled and thick plates of golden armor to act as shoulder guards, and patterns of golden dragons on the red cloth, attached to a blue cape. The long cloths of red would also have something like circular buckles on them, undoubtedly to keep the item of clothing from falling off. Ken supposed it was stylish, though he couldn't help being a little confused.
"I-."
"It's an exact replica of an item of clothing worn by King Wukong!" Relic interrupted. "It was worn as a symbol of China's alliance with the Dragons, It'll boost morale!"
Ken would gaze at the item of clothing with some hesitation. On top of being embarrassed by the idea of millions of people seeing him shirtless, the Monkey was almost certain that there had to be another outfit somewhere. Something that could still fit the occasion of reunion between the King of the Dragon Kingdom and the Dragon civilization. Considering the hurry he was in, Ken almost wondered if Relic had purposely grabbed the most visually distracting item of clothing knowing he wouldn't have enough time to pick anything else. But Ken would be quick to dismiss this theory. Even if she could be a little unbearable at times, Ken knew better than to believe that Relic would take advantage of a situation like this. She had certainly kept her promise of not revealing his secret bloodline to anyone. And if Relic's crying glomp from yesterday was to be of any indication, she might have cared far too much about Ken to go on embarrassing him in that way. Plus, Relic had brought up the designs historical significance, only making the theory more implausible.
With a grunt, Ken would continue rushing for the doorway that led outside the room, the item of clothing now draped over his shoulder. "I'll put it on on my way out! Let's go!"
"You won't be able to do that and fly at the same time!" Relic shouted while chasing behind him. The small Pika would be practically at his heel as she suggested: "Let me put it on for you!"
"Absolutely not!"
The boat ride hadn't proven itself to be too long. Maybe two days at the most. But it was uneventful. His soldiers, despite numbering in the millions, were far too afraid to start anything knowing he was in a closer vicinity than usual. Being surrounded by miles of water probably didn't help much with that paranoia either. It was almost a pity. On top of growing slightly bored with the passage of time, he had hoped to boost a little morale by making an example of anyone wishing to abandon ship. Metaphorically speaking, that was. Cowardice was something he couldn't allow no matter how guaranteed his victory was. As his father had always taught him: never underestimate your enemy. No matter how far beneath you they seem at a first glance.
But as uneventful as the journey had been, Gong hadn't exactly found the wait to unbearable. He had waited far longer for much less. Besides that, the passage of time was nothing for the Gorilla. At the very least, nothing compared to knowing the glory that awaited him. As well as the utter humiliation that awaited the King of Mobotropolis. The rest of the world, despite their tolerance of the aforementioned ruler, already found him to be a joke, and Gong was fairly certain that the squirrel's own citizens shared that opinion. At least if the occasionally crude references he had heard from the two freedom fighters was anything to go by. Gong wouldn't be surprised if those very citizens had all taken off by now in fear of the inevitable. Regardless, Gong was certain his upcoming victory. Beheading their king would just be icing on the cake for him.
Gong would keep his lantern on hand and lit under the night sky as the ships would make dock on a beach atop of the Sandy shores. The landing was rough, and any ship that steered the wrong way would surely be damaged, but that didn't matter. Maximillian and his men were likely already expecting them at the docks with some kind of ambush. Plus, as inferior as Mobotropolis's numbers were, they had the advantage of knowing the layout of the land. Stealth would be the better approach for now, he decided. By now, the Gorilla had come too far to risk losing based on chance.
Gong also didn't plan on leaving anything open for surrender or a cowardly retreat as his soldiers unloaded the last of their weaponry from the first boat to make it to shore, immediately after tossing the lantern onto the front deck. The lantern would immediately break apart as it landed on the boats wooden surface, which immediately caught ablaze. Gong would catch a couple of the soldiers gazing over him either in shock or as if to silently ask if the Tyrant King had just lost his marbles as the flames would quickly spread across the wooden vessel, it's entirely engulfed within seconds. These expressions immediately faded after the soldiers were given a threatening scowl from the gladiator, clearly warning them not to question him lest they desired a terrible fate.
Aside from the obvious discouragement to the soldiers from abandoning their duties, Gong had something else in mind as well. With the fire that had already begun to spread across this one ship, he imagined the flames would only get bigger with each new boat that came to join in on the wreckage. Gong also knew that the beach would likely be seen as a means of escape if not one of entry for reinforcements should Maximillian be smart enough to reach out to other countries for help, and should any of those countries be stupid enough to provide it. But the Gorilla imagined everyone would have a hard time on any of those counts should they find a barricade of burning wood and glass waiting for them. From there, once the battle was won, anyone found there would be given one of two options: To either join his army, or to die a cowards death.
Gong would also make a mental note to destroy any bridges leading into the country as he took notice of a passing soldier, one whom gripped tightly to the handle of his lamp and appeared nervous. 'Hopefully too nervous for his own sake.' Gong thought as he would stop this soldier in their motion by placing a hand over his chest. The soldier nearly jumped at the sensation and shook as he gazed up at the Gorilla. Gong would have been tempted to keep this soldier wondering for a little longer if he hadn't already wasted enough time already by simply waiting. Besides that, Gong was uncertain about how long it might take the old fool to take notice of a massive fire on a likely popular beach. Though, admittedly, he doubted he would take immediate notice.
"Wait for the next ship to unload, then toss your lantern into that one as well." Gong ordered. "And tell the next soldier I said to do the same."
The soldier would nod and rush to the nearest clearing on the edge immediately after, clearly not wanting to be the cause of delay. With each ship that made its way to shore, Gong's army would only continue to grow larger. Gong realized eventually that the numbers would grow too great for this beach to handle without everyone feeling crowded. Something else Gong had accounted for as he would march slowly up the field of moss over the modern city of Mobotropolis, his army only growing behind him. While he still doubted Maximillian would care enough to notice the trap waiting for him at the beach, he was almost certain to notice the seemingly infinite army making its approach. A sight guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of any Mobotropolis soldiers caught mentally unprepared for the massacre that awaited them.
Coming up in the next two chapters will be the final battle between Monkey Khan and King Gong, and considering every idea I've been blessed with, chapter 12 might end up being the longest chapter in the entire story. I can't guarantee it, but I think it's very likely at this point. At the most, I would expect it to be done a month from now, but I could end up sending it out as soon as a week and a half. Also, hardcore fans might notice the lack a ying-yang symbol on Khan's to be outfit. My reasoning for that is because of Christian beliefs of mine that conflict with the ideology behind that symbol and did not feel comfortable using it. I instead opted for Dragons as they are also a part of Chinese culture and exist in the Sonic multiverse. Example: Dulcy Dragon and Trip's super form.
But with that being said, what did you all think of Chapter 11? Please don't forget to favorite the story so you can be updated for when the next chapter arrives, and leave a review to let me know what you all thought. Thank you for reading and may the Lord Jesus Christ bless, protect, and watch over you all with happiness, good tidings, good health, prosperity, and that you would all come to know and love Him as your Lord and Savior if you haven't already. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.