So... that went about as well as I expected. Not entirely sure what I can even say about the whole thing to be quite honest. Being forced to fight the people you care about tends to leave you a bit speechless I suppose. Still, I think I can safely say that it's the first time I've been happy to get my ass kicked. It would certainly have been better than the alternative where they'd be trapped in the same hell that I'm in.
All and all I think the only proper thing I can say was a positive was hearing Vipers lovely voice again just before we started fighting. Yeah, I heard every single word she said to me. It was quite heart warming. First time I've managed a smile for a while too. I can only imagine what she's thinking right now. Hopefully she won't do anything foolish. That's more my job after all, heh. Still... miss you right back Vipes...
A small hand patted me on the back, as though sensing my misery. Is that...?
"Be strong young python. We shall have our retribution one day."
Oh, yeah. Um, turns out I wasn't as alone in this black void of nothingness as I first thought. That voice you just heard belongs to Dao. Or as you probably know him better as, one of the jombie twin badgers that attacked the Valley of Peace alongside jombie me. Not just him either. There's also his brother, Zhao who was currently missing from the ragtag group, and the porcupine who goes by... Master Porcupine. It was kind of nice to see these two as their normal selves instead of mindless green monsters.
"Yeah, let's hope I don't need to wait as long as you guys, eh?" I couldn't help but tease. Mostly to help lift spirits. Specifically mine.
"As my old master would say, patience is a virtue Master Python. One does not put all their strength on the first strike in hopes to defeat an enemy. As with any battle, you must wait for the right moment."
"Hah! I'll be honest Dao, patience isn't exactly what I'm known for. Matter of fact there was one enemy not so long ago that I wanted to stop so badly I ended up dropping an entire mountain down on top of it rather than take the harder way."
The look given to me by Dao was pretty funny, I won't lie. His buldging eyes and shocked expression upon hearing that managed to lighten the mood more than his little pep talk had so far. Not that it lasted long as a second voice erupted with laughter.
"HAHAHA! Now that sure is one way to win a battle! A feat to be remembered in history for sure!" Came the rougher words of Master Porcupine standing only a few feet away. He wore a golden tunic and had light-ish brown fur. Despite knowing him for a short time he was clearly the type that made it pretty easy to pick from a crowd. He was certainly not as disciplined as the badger comforting me, that was for sure.
"Nevertheless, I stand by my previous statement. Patience is a virtue. It is that mindset that allowed Zhao and I to perfect our crushing double gong technique." The badger smiled with pride.
"Ah, you mean that one move where you hit someone as hard as you can with your big sticks at the same time? Yes that must have been quite the challenge to master, Dao."
"Hmpf!"
"Hey, speaking of Zhao, where'd he go?" I decided to chime in before a fight could break out between the two. Not that I can blame them. They've clearly spent a lot of time trapped by that yak so God knows what pressure had been brewing since my arrival.
"He's gone to console the other masters and see if they have any information worth sharing from the villages they themselves went after."
"And what kind of information are you hoping to hear, huh?" The spiky archer dared to ask.
"Anything worth noting. And if you had been paying attention to our own battle Master Porcupine, you would have realised that we were the 'fortunate ones' who crossed paths with Oogways students as we had been ordered to! Why else do you think we were summoned back?"
"Mostly because we got our butts kicked by a chubby panda."
"Hey, lay off Po quilly, he's a good friend of mine." I hissed in annoyance. "He's also the Dragon warrior in case you weren't aware so pay respect where it's due."
With the uttering of that sudden truth bomb, the void seemed to go deathly silent. They both stared as though unsure if they heard right. It didn't take long after that before they were right in my face demanding to know everything I knew before I even had the chance to regret opening my scaly mouth.
"The Panda is the Dragon warrior!?"
"The prophecy has finally been fulfilled?!"
"When did this happen?"
"I nearly choked out the dragon warrior?! Awesome!"
"Does he always wear nothing but those burlap pants?"
Needless to say that some questions were more important than others, but regardless I tried to answer everything to the best of my ability. I told them both of how the dragon warrior came to be from the moment he was picked by master Oogway from his battles with Tai Lung, Lord Shen, Ke Pa and everything inbetween. There was a lot to share and catch the two up on before I finally brought the tale with a close on the last I saw of the panda. Well, when I wasn't a jombie trying to kill him that was.
Dao looked deep in thought for a moment, concentrating before asking one important question with the most serious voice I had heard from him so far. Which was really saying something.
"How far along is the dragon warrior with mastering chi?"
...
...
"His what now?"
Meanwhile...
Among the sickly orange clouds of the desert, with what known rumours and information they had scrounged up from the few nomads that survived their harsh way of life in this waterless environment, Crane and Mantis had spent the better half of the day tracking for any sign of the jade zombies. So far there had been nothing, even with the high altitude giving the two warriors a good scope of the sandy slopes for miles. If they were unable to find anything within the hour, then perhaps finding some shelter for the night would be the smarter option. Still, one last look over wouldn't hurt. The dried out, abandoned vessel they were coming up on seemed a good place as any for a good hiding spot. Or at the least would serve as some decent shelter.
"Wings of surveillance!" Crane called out from nowhere. A likely attempt to boost his confidence or to alleviate the growing boredom that passed with each dull second. Something that Mantis was starting to get pretty sick of.
"Why do you do that?" He asked, peering down from the top of Cranes hat in order to look him in the eye.
"Do what?"
"Just cause you say 'wings of' before something, it doesn't mean that you're doing a special move. It's like me saying 'antenna of power' or 'thorax of... making sandwiches'."
...
"Wings of disagreement."
Before the conversation could continue on any further, Mantis spotted something running though the desert. Multiple somethings. At first it seemed like they had come across a small group of the creatures that had attacked the Valley of Peace. Only upon closer inspection they weren't jade. None of them were. Matter of fact the largest of the three looked a lot like...
"Master bear!" Crane realised before the other two became more recognisable as the avian came round from behind them. "Master Chicken, Master Croc! What are you doing out here?"
"Jade creatures attacked our villages!" Master Chicken responded as he clucked instinctively. "We tracked them here!"
"STOP!"
Instantly the entire group stopped dead in their tracks. It seemed they had reached their destination, and likely their target. Of course unlike Crane and Mantis, they had no clue as to what they were up against, nor the consequences of what would happen if they were beaten. There was something worse than mindless jade beasts out here. Much worse.
"They must be in there." Master bear sniffed the air. There was no doubt that they were referring to the hollowed out carcass of a boat. Crane quickly thought it best to speak up now before anything could happen.
"Master Shifu strongly advised us-"
"RAAAARRRRRGHHHH!" Was the response Crane got before he could even finish his sentence as the large bear charged inside without hesitation, swinging the two battle axes he had with him. It seemed to be enough to convince Master Croc to follow too. They both disappeared into the darkness of the ships bowels in mere seconds.
"-Not to engage..."
"We've got to get in there!" Mantis snapped, thinking that there was time to act.
"But Master Shifu said-"
"You're seriously afraid? Even Master Chicken is going in there! And he's a chicken!"
Sure enough, the smaller bird charged with miniature wing blades at the ready. Albeit at a slower pace than his comrades but made it inside the ship clucking the whole way before he too was swallowed by the black void of the ship. Not that the darkness lasted long as ominous rumbles and bright green flashes pulsed from somewhere inside lighting the entrance briefly. One after another that lasted only a few seconds altogether. The last one was timed perfectly with a final terrified cluck from Master Chicken.
That was all that Mantis could take. "That's it! I'm going in!" He announced hopping off of Cranes hat. His taller partner protested immediately.
"Mantis! We have orders not to-"
"They need our help. Come on!" The bug pressured Crane. "I'll go high, you go low!"
"Mantis wait!"
Mantis was done waiting. Now was the time for action. He hopped his way to the very top of the boat and snuck through one of the many holes in its deck where Crane lost sight of him too. More intense flashes followed prompting Crane to act before it was too late.
"Hold on buddy, I'm coming!" Crane called, flying towards the ship as fast as he could. In the three seconds he made it inside, ready in his battle stance, the flashes had died down and the inside of the vessel was devoid of life. There was no sound but the sand shifting beneath his talons.
"Mantis?" Crane whispered out. "Mantis!"
As he called out he failed to notice a growing hulking mass stand over him before it was too late. By the time he looked behind him he could see the enormous being responsible for defeating the four masters that had come before him. Huge horns, bright green eyes and an amused dark smile were directed right at the bird, telling him that he was next.
Back with Mike
"So... it's magic?"
For the last five minutes, Dao had been trying to explain what this whole 'chi' thing was to me. He had gone through the understanding of it and its purpose to all life forms. It was kind of odd to grasp and, well I'm going to be honest it sounds a lot like 'The Force'. And considering the lack of glowing swords I've seen I'm just going to stick with magic. Needless to say he was getting frustrated at my lack of understanding while Master Porcupine was... well, he wasn't really doing anything other than watching the conversation play out. He seemed to be enjoying the badgers minor emotional suffering if that smile was any indication.
"Ugh, no! By the gods, you're a kung fu master. You should have an understanding of chi already! How is magic your answer to such a widely known concept?"
"Trust me mate. I've seen a lot, and I mean A LOT of weird things since becoming a master of kung fu. Magic would definitely not be the strangest thing I've come across."
It wasn't a topic that was debated for very long as he soon stopped trying to convince me otherwise. I can only assume it had something to do with the stress of being trapped for years beginning to take its toll on Dao as it would with any mortal being, and my lack of understanding was doing little to help maintain his grip on sanity.
*POOF*
Or it probably had to do with the sudden appearance of a fat bear, crocodile and chicken falling onto their backs in front of us. Either or.
"Where is he? Where did he go!?" The bear snarled as he got to his feet and noticed the three new and confused animals before him. "Who are you?"
"Curse it all." The badger exclaimed. "More fallen masters. He's becoming stronger."
"Who? Kai?"
"Yes. For every master he beats and collects, their chi will fuel and belong to him. If he's defeated this many this quickly..." He gestured to the new arrivals. "Then your dragon warrior may very well be our only hope."
*POOF*
Oh boy, that must have been another master. Which poor soul is it this...
...
"Mantis?!"