Before Setting Sail
Finding Sanctuary
"Hello?" Luthera knocked at the door of the martial arts school.
"I think this is the one," Po told her. "He's set up a few of these across the country."
"Is this old friend of yours even there?" asked Akna.
"What do we do if he's not here?" asked Forouzan.
"Well, uh… we're out of luck?" Po smiled weakly.
At that moment, Po was still lying down on the wagon as his friends brought him to the location that hopefully would be open during a late night hour.
Finally, they heard the gate to the temple being unlocked.
"Who are you and why are you knocking at this hour?" a voice demanded.
Luthera and Colin took a step back as a young snow leopard showed himself, staring at everyone suspiciously.
"Peng, buddy!" Po cried out.
At once, he felt some pain in his bones.
"Ow, Kim sure left his mark!"
"Po, is that you?" Peng rushed towards the wagon.
"Yeah, nice to see you again, Peng!" Po replied.
"What happened to you?" asked Peng.
"It's a long story but the Emperor was overthrown and Junjie took his place," Po told him. "Me and my friends tried to take Junjie down but we were defeated when he brought out two big guns I haven't seen in a long time. I think one of them broke almost all the bones in my body…"
"Can you help him?" asked Luthera.
Peng looked at the bear suspiciously but then decided that if Po trusted them, then he should also do the same.
"I can," Peng promised. "Let's get you inside and I can examine you."
oooo
In the Emperor's palace, the mood was unreadable, as Po and the Dragon Knights had escaped capture. Walking down the hall, Tong Fo, Temutai, Fung, and Taotie chatted among themselves.
"I don't know about the rest of you," Tong Fo told them. "But I, for one, am getting a little tired of our Emperor not being able to deliver that panda's head on a silver platter."
"It is rather unbecoming that Junjie could have all this power but yet not be able to execute the panda," Temutai agreed.
"Are you guys, like, tired of Junjie?" asked Fung.
"Think about it, Fung," Tong Fo told him. "Junjie has made it clear he has every intention of lording over us. Heck, he's even allowing that Pai Mei character to have more control."
"Maybe he's giving Pai Mei concessions because Junjie doesn't want to fight the tamarin monkey himself?" speculated Taotie.
"That could be," Tong Fo realized. "But even with Pai Mei and Kim by his side, there's got to be some way to even the odds in our favor."
"Ah, I believe I have found what we need," Temutai looked around, finding the armory room they had been searching for.
"Let's see what we can find," Tong Fo grinned.
Inside the room where multiple swords, staffs, axes, and other assorted melee weapons. However, none of those were what the group were interested in.
Finally, they moved towards the projectiles section of the room before finding what they were looking for. And it was covered up in a white sheet.
Temutai grabbed the sheet and took it off, showing the weapon before everyone.
"Now this is what I'm talking about," Tong Fo nodded agreeably. "Taotie, can you get it operational?"
Taotie examined the weapon carefully and raised his thumb.
"You got it," Taotie promised.
oooo
"I didn't know you learned a lot about medicine in your spare time," Po told Peng.
"I picked up an additional skill after I set up my school so help pay the bills," Peng informed him.
Finally, Peng set down his equipment after thoroughly examining Po.
"Will he be alright?" asked Luthera.
"It's just as I feared," Peng told them.
"Oh no," Po frowned.
"Whoever this Kim was, he broke a lot of the bones in your body," Peng confirmed. "You've got multiple fractures and broken bones."
"He'll recover, right?" asked Mr. Ping.
"He will," Peng told them. "But it might take months before Po gets back to normal."
"We might not have that long," Colin looked out the window. "Who knows what Junjie could do in all this time."
"So how did all of you get to know each other?" asked Peng. "I don't see you with the Furious Five anymore, Po."
"Remember all those earthquakes a while back and how shadow demons seemed to spring up everywhere?" asked Po.
"I do," Peng confirmed. "They had everyone afraid."
"Well, me and my new friends were involved in all of that," Po told him. "You see, there was an incident involving the Tianshang weapons being stolen and then I met Luthera and we had to go on a worldwide adventure to find them and those weapons changed hands around a lot before it got to Luthera's brother who went crazy and fused all the continents back into Pangaea."
"You certainly lived a very interesting life after you left the Valley of Peace," Peng had to admit.
"We stopped Luthera's brother finally but after that, all of us had to reunite for Klaus's trial," Po went on.
"I stole the Wugao gauntlet originally with my sister," Klaus admitted. "But several hardships later, I had a change of heart and joined Po."
"I see," Peng looked at Klaus curiously.
"So because the earth was shifted, I'm guessing several villains broke free," Po continued. "And that's when Junjie got them all together to overthrow the Emperor. And by the time we were at the palace, that's when Junjie sprung his coup and later on, we lost to him and his followers."
"I'll be honest Po," Peng said to him. "Your injuries might take a while to heal so I think it's best if you stay put. Also, I'm now running my own kung fu school and I don't know how much I'll be able to help you with your new mission."
"Well, Po is safe for now and that's what matters," Mr. Ping put his hand on Po's shoulder.
A small roar was heard.
The gang looked over to see a female snow leopard with a young cub wrapped up.
"Is that Po again?" asked Lian.
"This is my wife," Peng walked towards her, introducing her to everyone else. "As you can see, I also have a family to take care of right now."
"Your family's grown since," Po noted cheerfully despite his injuries.
"Oh wow, you're so cute!" Akna flew up next to the young snow leopard cub.
"His name is Fei Hung," Lian confirmed as the colorful bird played with the cub.
"In the meantime, what will we do about Junjie?" asked Luthera. "We can't just let him go about as he pleases."
"Yes, and I also have a family I need to return to at some point," Rukhmini pointed out.
Lian looked at Po's new friends like she had an idea in her head and whispered in Peng's ear.
"In these next few days, I could help train the rest of you," Peng offered. "Teach you the ways of kung fu so you'll be prepared to face Junjie at some point."
The Dragon Knights looked at each other.
"Well, it would be an honor," Luthera finally acknowledged.
"There are usually more formal rituals for a master accepting new students," Peng told them. "But because of the situation we're facing with Junjie, I'll forego those traditions and teach you first thing tomorrow."
oooo
One day later.
"You wanted this audience with me, Tong Fo?" asked Emperor Junjie.
"I did," Tong Fo told him.
Tong Fo and the entire Brotherhood of Malfeasance were there, along with the other villains that Junjie had picked up.
"Then speak up," Junjie told him. "What is it that you desire?"
"What I desire is a regime change," Tong Fo said brazenly and confidently.
"Oh? Is that so?" Junjie's eyes flashed dangerously. "Just when we've achieved stability after the reign of the previous tyrannical Emperor? It sounds to me like you're speaking treason, Tong Fo…"
"We gave you a chance to show us what you're made of," Tong Fo replied. "You had all the men, money, and warriors at your disposal and you still couldn't serve us the Dragon Warrior's head on a silver platter! So I think it's time for a change."
"Pray tell, what change?" Junjie grinned.
"Emperor Tong Fo has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" the loris sneered.
"I think you overestimate your own worth," Junjie leaned back. "As well as your own strength?"
"Do I?" Tong Fo gestured to the other villains in the room. "We've had a talk and all of us have decided you're not worth the parchment your name is printed on."
"I will never be ordered around by the likes of Pai Mei!" Mugan declared in her bowl.
"Yeah, we signed on for looting and treasure!" Fung pointed out. "Being your royal guard is way beyond the Croc Bandits' paygrade!"
"My, they're getting rather testy," Pai Mei said as he stood next to Junjie's throne.
"That bearded monkey irritates me!" Temutai roared. "I would rather squash him than bend the knee to him!"
The whole time, Kim the Invincible stood there on the other side of Junjie's throne, crossing his arms and saying nothing. However, the tattoo on his body portraying him lifting up Po in a victory had been completed.
"I appreciate the fact that you sprung me out of prison," Fu-xi said to Junjie. "But I have my own life to live and being around two-legged creatures isn't in that agenda. So I must bid you a farewell, however forceful it may need to be."
"Yeah, and I just want to leave the palace and go see my son again!" Taotie pointed out.
"And I have my own home and son to attend!" Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow. "Really I do, my friend. It's been an honor seeing Po get beaten up. It truly was. But I also need to go attend to the matters of my own land."
"It looks like the people have spoken," Tong Fo crossed his arms. "None of us want a dictator like you telling us what to do."
"So, you've chosen the path of mutiny," Junjie sighed.
"C'mon Junjie, can't you just let us go?" asked Gah-ri.
"I'm afraid not," Junjie nixed the idea. "You see, I've just consolidated power and I can't just have a mutiny on my hands this early. If you want your freedom, you'll have to fight for it."
Junjie gestured to both Kim and Pai Mei who stepped forward.
"It's all of us against the two of them," Tong Fo told everyone. "We can do this!"
"Don't kill all of them," Junjie told Kim and Pai Mei. "But teach all of them a lesson in insubordination nonetheless."
"Attack!" Temutai shouted.
In an instant, Pai Mei knocked down both Fung and Gah-ri. Taotie unleashed his four mechanical arms but the monkey dodged the metal tentacles, lightly tapping one of them as he ran straight past Taotie and knocking Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow out with a brutal kick.
Taotie turned around, intending to attack again but then noticed the entire contraption on his back was glowing with energy that Pai Mei had channeled.
"Uh oh," Taotie realized too late.
The warthog took the machine off and threw it away but not in time. The ensuing explosion still sent him flying back into the wall.
Pai Mei smiled and then dodged a kick by Dosu. The monkey channeled just a tiny bit of energy into his finger and as the mantis leaped at him again, Pai Mei unleashed his finger, flicking Dosu with enough force to send the brown mantis flying into a pillar. As Hundun charged him, Pai Mei grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him face into the floor, making a small crater.
"All of you are amateurs!" Pai Mei cried.
Fu-xi slithered towards Pai Mei whose hands began to glow with the Five Fingered Blast Punch. As soon as he saw that, the cobra decided to switch strategies, realizing he couldn't get hit with such an attack.
The cobra then slithered onto the table, grabbing various sharp utensils with throwing them at Pai Mei.
As Pai Mei dealt with his opponents, Kim the Invincible stood strong as the largest opponent in the room charged at him.
"Outta my way!" Li-Dong shouted at Kim. "I'm gonna pulverize Junjie!"
Li-Dong punched Kim in the chest with all his might, striking him with the amount of force that would have sent Po or Temutai flying.
"Is that all you're capable of?" Kim asked calmly.
Li-Dong then realized his strongest punch didn't even budge the hippo.
"He's called the Invincible for a reason," Junjie reminded Li-Dong with a smile as he sat on his throne.
Kim threw his fist into Li-Dong's stomach, knocking the air out of the giant croc. After taking just one hit, Li-Dong fell down on his chest. The hippo walked behind and grabbed Li-Dong by the tail, swinging him around and gathering centrifugal force.
Finally, he let go, throwing Li-Dong through a castle wall. Junjie took special note as Li-Dong was hurled so far into the distance that the fox couldn't even tell where Li-Dong landed.
"Gaaahh!" Temutai came from behind Kim, smashing an axe over the hippo's head, intending to take him out in one blow.
However, the axe broke on contact, with the metal not even managing to penetrate Kim's skin.
Kim turned around and punched Temutai across the room to take him out before grabbing a charging Scorpion and smashing her into a wall with his hand.
"Take this!" Mugan leaped from bowl to bowl, slashing Kim.
Kim looked at the goldfish in amusement. Not one of her fin slashes managed to hurt him. Finally, the hippo grew bored of letting her have her turn and reached out, grabbing Mugan by her whole body.
"Let me go this instant!" Mugan cried, struggling.
Kim squeezed down hard on Mugan, by which point the struggling stopped. Finally, Kim let go of her as Mugan's lifeless body fell to the floor.
"Did he just kill Mugan?" Gah-ri's mouth dropped in shock.
Tong Fo overheard what was going on but couldn't focus on Mugan as Pai Mei kept up his furious attacks. Tong Fo threw punch after punch at Pai Mei who dodged his blows.
"You can fight," admitted Pai Mei. "But it's not enough to keep up with me."
Pai Mei sent Tong Fo falling back with a kick. Fu-xi came from behind Pai Mei but the old tamarin whirled around and backhanded the cobra into unconsciousness.
Tong Fo came in, kicking and punching at Pai Mei again but Pai Mei caught one of his punches and struck Tong Fo multiple times across the jaw and stomach with a flurry of fists and elbow strikes before knocking the loris back again.
"This isn't over!" Tong Fo promised.
The loris backflipped away to a suit of armor with a crossbow and grabbed the weapon. He took aim with the crossbow and fired an arrow aimed at Pai Mei's body.
Pai Mei caught the arrow easily.
"This isn't going to end well for you if you need to use toys against me!" Pai Mei promised as he charged up the arrow with his energy.
The Emperor tamarin threw the charged up arrow back at Tong Fo who leaped out of the way. However, the resulting explosion from the arrow hitting the armor was enough to knock Tong Fo to the floor where an injured Taotie helped him up. Soon, the two were joined by Fung and Gah-ri.
"Plan B?" asked Fung.
"Plan B it is," Tong Fo nodded, realizing he just couldn't beat Pai Mei.
Moreover, he realized that the coup he attempted was less than successful, with both Pai Mei and Kim the Invincible on Junjie's side.
All four ran down the hall.
"Pursue them," Junjie told Pai Mei and Kim. "And bring them back before me so I can deal with them myself."
Pai Mei and Kim didn't need to be told twice and went after the two.
oooo
"We're here," Taotie told the others as they entered the armory in the palace.
"This was used at the Battle of Gongman City," Tong Fo grabbed the sheet covering the weapon and took it off. "Lucky for us, the peacock had a spare he kept in his palace that got confiscated later. It couldn't defeat the Dragon Warrior but I'm certain it'll take care of those two bozos!"
"I hear them coming!" Fung cried.
Finally, Pai Mei and Kim stood before them at the entrance.
"Nothing will save you now," Kim told them.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Tong Fo told them as Taotie held a torch in his hand and Fung and Gah-ri moved the cannon so it focused on Kim.
"Stand back," Kim told Pai Mei. "I will deal with this."
"Your funeral," Tong Fo told him as Pai Mei took a step back. "Taotie, open fire!"
Taotie lit the fuse as the two crocs focused the cannon on Kim. In a few short seconds, the cannon opened fire.
Kim focused intensely as the brightly colored cannonball came at him.
"Raaaaahhh!" Kim cried.
With a single forceful blow, Kim back-handed the cannonball as it came in close, knocking it aside and causing the cannonball to destroy the nearby wall. The ball soared through the air until it fell down in the nearby countryside in an explosion.
"T-That was my last trump card," Tong Fo's jaws widened, not expecting the outcome that he got.
"I've had enough of this foolishness," Pai Mei came in at blazing speeds Tong Fo couldn't even follow.
At once, the cannon was overloaded with Pai Mei's energy. Before they had even noticed, Pai Mei patted the cannon with his powerful Five Fingered Blast Punch.
"Uh oh," Fung realized.
"Scatter!" Gah-ri cried.
The four tried to get out of the way in time but the ensuing explosion knocked them all back.
As Tong Fo looked around, he noticed Taotie, Fung, and Gah-ri were all unconscious. Then he noticed Kim and Pai Mei standing over him.
"The Emperor would like a word with you," Pai Mei told him.
oooo
The rhino guards tied down the last of the insurgents as Junjie looked at the group with amusement.
"All of you thought you could leave my services," Junjie told them. "But you thought wrong. And you've all paid a hefty price, especially Mugan."
Junjie gestured towards the goldfish's lifeless corpse on the floor which was then picked up by a rhino guard and taken away.
"I won't have all of you executed for now," Junjie told the gang. "But you will remain in my service under I decide I have no more need of you."
"Heh heh heh," Pai Mei chuckled.
"Master Pai Mei will be assigned to supervise all of you," Junjie told them. "Is that clear from now on?"
"Y-yes your majesty," Tong Fo said in defeat.
"Please don't work us to death," Fung pleaded.
Junjie sneered. In the near-future, he would have to get a better royal entourage and cast aside the Brotherhood of Malfeasance along with the other Valley of Peace rogues. And when that day arrived, he would happily have the current batch of villains executed.
"So, about Shifu," Pai Mei turned to him.
"Worry not," Junjie promised. "When Shifu and his Furious Five return from their mission, I'll send out an invitation for them to come to the Emperor's palace where you'll be waiting for them."
"That's what I like to hear," Pai Mei smiled with an evil grin.
To be continued.
