There was no mistaking that tiny green body. That was indeed Mantis! And if he's here then...
Oh no.
Without a seconds hesitation I was already making my way over to the little guy as he was still recovering from being caught by that damn yak. It took him a moment but he soon managed to balance himself back on all four legs. He didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings including myself, even when I was mere feet away. I know how he feels. I was the same the moment I was caught.
"Mantis? Are you okay bud?" I asked, finally having the chance to speak to one of my friends for the first time in a good long while.
"Ugh... one moment Mike." He waved me off with one of his claws. "My head's killing me after going toe to claw with that- MIKE!"
Almost right away he recognized exactly who he was talking too. Next thing I knew, the little guy had jumped on my chest and despite his size, had enough force to bowl me over onto my back as I was tackled into a miniature hug. It seemed he missed me just as much as I missed him. "It's good to see you again! Wait, it is you right? You're not going to try and eat me a second time are you?"
I couldn't keep the amused smile growing on my face at the guys paranoia. "Yeah buddy, it's me! Like ME me. And it's good to see you too!" As happy as it was to see Mantis again, I had to ask one very important question that formed in my mind seconds after I saw him appear. "But... if you're here, does that mean that the others are...?"
"What, fighting that gigantic horned freak? No, they're all good. They're safe."
I was about to voice my relief until yet another flash went off revealing yet another poor unfortunate soul. A very familiar skinny, hat wearing bird that fell and crashed into the ground with an undignified squawk. Seeming to be okay from his landing, I turned to Mantis with an annoyed glare in which he shrugged apologetically.
"Okay, everyone but me and Crane. Honest."
As much as The green nuisance winded me up sometimes, I doubted very much that he would lie about something as serious as this. I decided to take his word. At least until someone else falls from the sky too which so far, no-one else has.
"Right, okay. So how the hell did you two end up here then?"
"You can thank Shifu for that." He grumbled bitterly as he finally got off my chest and allowing me to get off of my back. "He sent us to discover Kai's whereabouts and report back-"
"Until Mantis decided to engage the guy despite me telling him not to." Crane added in, making his way over with a passing glare to Mantis before flashing a smile to me. "It's good to see you again Mike. Shame it had to be under these circumstances." The avian bowed respectfully.
Yeah, I don't think so.
It's been FAR too long since I've seen these guys, so you'd better believe that rather than bow back I wasted no time bringing the skinny bird in for a hug. Something he squawked at in surprise before quickly easing up and accepting the affectionate contact with his own smile.
"Yeah well, a lot's happened since we last saw each other. It's a miracle I'm still kicking... sort of."
...
"So um... how's Vipes? I can't imagine after our latest encounter that she would be in the happiest of moods right now."
Mantis and Crane eyed each other for a second. They seemed slightly hesitant to share any sort of new on Viper. Something that quickly concerned me.
"Guys?"
"She's doing well!" Crane blurted out with a somewhat forced smile. "She's in high spirits, right Mantis?"
"That's one way of putting it." Mantis huffed. "Let's just say that she's determined to bring you back."
"How do you mean?" I pressed.
"What I mean is that before we left, she tried convincing Shifu that she would be better off going in my place. More than a few times."
"As well as spending most of her time trying to find any information on 'de-jading' someone. We all have I suppose but none more so than her." Crane added in.
"Oh..."
Well that's... not exactly great. I know better than most what it's like to be determined. To never stop until you've accomplished what you feel you need to do. That is what got me into this situation to begin with.
A small awkward silence filed the air and the need to talk about anything else started to set in.
"So!" I started off, breaking the tension. "Who are your friends? They arrived just before you two." I gestured to the bear, croc and the chicken who were all busy engaging with my own rag tag group of ancient warriors, the badger twins and master Porcupine.
"Oh them? Those are masters Bear, Croc and Chicken. We crossed paths when we were tracking down Kai."
Great. So that's another team of masters caught and imprisoned. It certainly doesn't mentally help hearing that it was basically five against one and the five got their butts handed to them in mere minutes. One thing that I had been informed earlier from master Porcupine was that the more of us were taken, the stronger our captor becomes which means its only a matter of time before he goes after all the other masters too. Including everyone at the Jade Palace.
"I don't suppose you managed to figure out a way to stop Kai before leaving by any chance, did you?" I asked somewhat desperately. "Like, maybe a hint of anything that could work out in our favor?"
Crane gave a bit of a nod.
"Actually yes! We think that Po-"
RrRrRrAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Damn it. Not her again...
No doubt Mantis and Crane were wondering what that hideous shrieking roar was, if the looks of terror on their faces were any indication. The noise was loud enough to tear through the black emptiness and rattle the ground beneath us. It took a few seconds before it died down. For a moment, none of us said anything, not even the other masters.
"Uh... what the hell was that?" Mantis broke the silence.
Okay, how do I explain this?
"Well, putting a long story short, before I was turned into a fancy jade ornament, I ended up making it to what I soon learned to be a place called the spirit world. It was a beautiful place really, if you're into huge infinite space and floating buildings. And, well..."
"Well what?" Crane pressed.
"I didn't enter the spirit world alone. There was... someone else who came with me."
././././././././././.
It seemed to dawn on Viper that she was beginning to re-read the same scrolls she had checked a few hours ago. Matter of fact, how long had it been since she had taken a moment to do something other than study on Kai and more importantly, those under his control. Having finally realized the world around her she chose to take a break. Her coiled muscles could certainly use it. The bright green snake blinked the stress from her eyes and began to head out from the hall of heroes and towards the barracks.
Ever since the attack of those jade creatures, the remaining warriors of the Jade palace, including Shifu had spent most of their time preparing for the inevitable confrontation of the massive warlord. Tigress was in town, currently attempting to evacuate the villagers from their homes lest they get caught in the fight. Monkey was training and Shifu was meditating, leaving her to study on her own. Of course, her thoughts extended to Crane and Mantis rather than just Mike alone. She hoped that they were okay and faring well on their own duties.
Her thoughts were so focused on the trio that she nearly bumped head first into the sliding door of her own room. Almost. She gave an annoyed sigh at her lack of focus and entered her private quarters before deciding to take a page from Grandmaster Shifu and meditate. Perhaps a clearer mind would lead to a clearer path for a solution.
"Come on Viper. You just need to focus." She told herself. "Just breathe in and out, clear your mind and the answer will open up to you. Remember what Shifu says. Inner peace is the key. Inner peace. Inner peace..."
Inner peace
...
...
...
Inner peace...
...
...
...
...
...
"InNeR pEaCe..."
Vipers eyes shot open. A hint of fear crawled through her and a cry almost left her mouth as a harsh and cold, yet disturbingly familiar voice cut through her mind like someone had actually just spoken. But that was impossible. There was only her here.
"Hello?" She asked out loud, feeling almost foolish doing so. Had the toll of studying begun to play tricks on her mind too?
There was no response. Maybe some fresh air of a trip to the peach tree of wisdom would help ease whatever stress was building up inside of her. At least she hoped it was just stress...