Zhen slowly breathed as she felt her chest rising. It was the only sound that echoed within the cold chamber. The young fox's expression was cast in stoned determination. Her mind maintained a cold focus. Yet the ice melted away as a fiery blaze burned through her vulpine gray matter. An after-battle cold burn. That was the best way to describe it. She had experienced it during her years of training, and of the battles that followed after it.
Suddenly, a thick cough, garbled and gurgling as a solid splatter spat on the floor. Zhen didn't need to see it to know it was blood. Staring down at her hands, she noticed her paws were speckled with copper-scented spillings. A little wash would get the stains out, but it painted her fur a crimson swath. This wouldn't be the first time that she had to clean her fur out. She had to admit, that living underneath the Chameleon's watch had afforded her certain luxuries. Unlike most of the unwanted refuse that lay scattered about Juniper City, she was used to daily bathing and going to bed with a full stomach. Yet, her former mistress had made certain she wasn't entirely spoiled. Zhen supposed the Chameleon wanted her student to know her place.
Being kept under a sorceress's thumb for most of her life taught Zhen how magic could be a corrupting force. Magic and Kung Fu were different yet so similar. She understood why the Chameleon wanted to possess both. When she wielded both together, she was a force to be reckoned with. Thankfully, she and Po had put an end to her madness, trapping her along with the warriors whose chi she had stolen. Drunk on Power described it, and she had seen it plenty today.
Another garbled sound cried out as laughter mixed in with it, "Well, it seems the glorious Dragon Warrior can get her paws dirty."
Zhen silently turned around, eyes firm and focused on one who stubbornly clung to life. Sitting within a gradually expanding pool of blood, seeping courtesy from the wound in her chest, was a female arctic fox, clad in black leather and silver metal, every piece forged within the shape of death. Certainly, there was a skull theme going on.
The she-wolf snarled as she glared at Zhen with her burning yet dead red eyes, "You're still talking?" Zhen asked rhetorically.
Snarls gave way to laughter, "You know me, Dragon Warrior, I'm not so easily detained.
"You've lost, just lay down and be silent!" Zhen spat.
"My, aren't you a commanding one little urchin fox," the wolf watched as Zhen's face remained firm, "Oh yes, I know all about you, where you crawled out from, who took you in," laughing once more, the wolf spat out more blood, "Wouldn't the Chameleon be proud of you?"
"I didn't do this for her! You needed to be stopped Siwang,"
"Stop me you did, but have you considered the future?"
Zhen rolled her eyes, "Spare me the whole "This isn't the end" "I will return" villain spiel."
A cold laugh blew the vixen's way, "Such an unimaginative mind, I've coupled with the foulest of creatures, beings you've only seen in your nightmares!" The fire in her red eyes burned ever hotter, "I've lain with Death himself, and he's given me his bounty!"
Coughing again, the wolf slowly turned on her side, arms folded beneath her open wound. Her head fell to her side, eyes staring ahead of Zhen, "I...am…not…end...of...my...line," A final breath gasped.
Zhen stood for a moment, fixating on the body before her. She didn't need to check, she knew Siwang the Bone Witch was dead.
"Took her long enough," Zhen joked.
A joke might have been inappropriate for the situation, but for someone as repugnant as Siwang, it was all the more deserving. The woman was a monster, and the scars she had given China were evidence of that. For a moment, warmth spread over Zhen. She was taught not to take pleasure in killing, but ridding the world of this menace brought a sense of accomplishment. Yet, there was also pity. Siwang indeed had great magical potential, so much that it was said she had wasted it.
She was aptly named the Bone Witch due to her special ability: raising the dead. Siwang didn't bring spirits back from the Spirit World, instead, she could literally make the dead walk. Zombies, skeletons, and even more grotesque monstrosities they didn't need mentioning. It was like something out of a ghost story. Now the witch was dead, her minions now probably lifeless husks. With their mistress dead, likely the magic keeping them sustained dried out.
There would be no more horrors, no carnage, and no death to add to Siwang's growing army. Zhen had saved China and left nothing unresolved. Then she heard it, a low moan coming from behind. Swiftly Zhen turned around and eyes a violet curtain in the back. Siwang had stared at something right before she died, and it would seem this was it.
Another moan followed, but this one had a whine of sorts to it. Eyes curious, Zhen cautiously crept forward. Was it another one of Siwang's horrors? Zhen had seen plenty of the witch's experiments as she made her way through the fortress.
Balling her fist, Zhen sensed a fight coming on. The rational part of her mind told her to run away, while the Dragon Warrior part told her she needed to finish the fight. Who knew what Siwang had been growing, probably something disgusting. Whatever ball of suffering flesh lay behind the curtain, Zhen would face it. That's what Po had taught her.
Her paw cautiously reached for the curtain. It had to be a swift motion, there was no chance of delaying it. With a solid tug, she pulled the curtain, teeth, and claws bared...at a tiny crib. Zhen blinked for a moment, then came another sound, this time a coo. Creeping closer, Zhen spied inside and her eyes widened at the sight. Nestled within a blanket was a tiny wolf cub. His fur was white as snow, but as she stared into the barely open eyes, Zhen did not notice any traces of red fire.
Slowly the child opened his eyes further, staring up at the fox. The child's eyes cast a curious light as Zhen's gray form stared down bewildered. Thoughts processed within Zhen's mind as she attempted to digest what she was looking at. The white fur, it couldn't be. Suddenly, Siwang's final words echoed through her mind.
It would seem the Bone Witch was not the end of her line.
"Oh no," Zhen muttered.
The child giggled as he waved his tiny arms. Zhen was taken aback. Didn't the child understand what had happened? Of course, he didn't, he was only a baby, and he had been hidden behind the curtain.
Why, why did the baby have to be here? How could she have known the Bone Witch had him? There was no denying it, but Zhen was staring at the child of her enemy. All of his mother's gifts and expectations were likely placed within him.
A soft wail emanated from the child, perhaps finally sensing something was wrong. Being a wolf he did have an acute sense of smell, and with those ears, it made it all the better for him to hear the battle. Yet, the child seemed undeterred, at least earlier.
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, it's okay," Zhen said as she calmed the child.
The baby ceased his crying, stifling down to a whimper, "Don't worry little guy, it's going to be okay."
Zhen didn't know that, but she knew what her choice was.
Po did his best to keep calm. It had been five days since Zhen had set out to deal with Siwang the Bone Witch. Po had seen many things in his life, but a witch who could raise the dead was something else. It wasn't like raising spirits, she literally made the dead walk and had them dance to her command. Po had learned long ago the word for such a mage: Necromancer.
Being the Dragon Warrior, Zhen had to deal with this threat. It was an expected territory when one was a savior of China. Po had saved China more times than he could count, and it was now up to his student. A young thief with humble beginnings. Shifu had expressed doubt in Po's choice of an apprentice, but with the training he and the five had given Zhen, she had passed it all with flying colors. Now she had surpassed him, and who knows? Perhaps one day the mantle of Spiritual Leader would be passed on to her as a result.
Part of him wanted to go with Zhen on her mission, but the valley needed him, in case Siwang's forces breached the boundaries of their home. Traces of doubt seeped into his mind, but he held onto his staff tighter as he attempted to cleanse his mind.
Inner Peace was not a far-off concept, and then, the doors to the Jade Palace opened. Po's face lit up as he saw Zhen's tiny form slowly walking through.
"Zhen, you're back!" Po hurried over to her, "Have to say I was pretty-"
"SHHH!" Zhen's harsh voice silenced him.
Po halted in place, staring at his student curiously, "Zhen?"
Then Po noticed something peculiar about Zhen. Within her arms, she held a bundle, one with a tiny white arm.
"You'll wake him."
There was one more question upon Zhen's mind, "Zhen...what's going on?"
All Zhen could do as the child spontaneously whimpered, was nervously smile.