Twin Dragons
The 36 Chambers of Wudang
By now, there was a somber tone at Southern Wudang, with the combined imperial and Southern Wudang army having been completely destroyed. At the corner of the room, General Tongliao sat with his head hung low. Both of Po's dads were also back, as was Duke Zhihui.
"It was a massacre from the start," Zhihui said. "We never stood a chance."
Then the un-thinkable happened. Duke Zhihui began crying.
"The peace that the previous Emperor created," Zhihui cried. "It's all going to end. This country is going to be plunged into darkness. We went out there and lost so many good men for nothing!"
"Things do not look good," Shengqi said to him. "But all is not lost yet. We have one more card to play."
"We're ready to do whatever you ask, Master Shengqi," Shifu told him.
"It is apparent no conventional army could defeat Pai Mei and his forces at this point," Shengqi sighed. "But if the combined forces of the White Lotus Society and the Jade Palace issued individual challenges to Northern Wudang's strongest and defeated them all, then Pai Mei's mad ambitions would be put to an end."
"I… I've gained some battlefield intelligence on them," Zhihui stopped sobbing and got down to business.
"What do you have for us?" asked Tigress.
"Their elite are powerful but I witnessed with my own eyes what their capabilities are," Zhihui told them. "The messenger goose is capable of creating powerful red chi constructs to cause destruction. There's also an albino gorilla who bulldozed his way through all our men and I have yet to determine what his true power is. Additionally, there was a gigantic electric eel among their numbers whose control over lightning was nearly god-like."
"And we all saw what Sanzu was capable of," Po recalled.
"What can you tell us about their master, Pai Mei?" asked Tai Lung.
"All of you must be careful around him," Zhihui looked at the group. "He is capable of generating explosions with his chi with a simple touch. And you, Po, should especially be wary. Years ago, you were able to re-direct cannonfire at the Battle of Gongmen City. In all this time, we thought you were the only kung fu practitioner capable of such a feat. But no longer. Pai Mei can also accomplish the same thing with ease."
Po gulped. "I'll keep that in mind."
"There's a little more," Li Shan added. "When Ping and I infiltrated Pai Mei's stronghold, we overheard a conversation he had with the gorilla. They talked about how Pai Mei now has access to the Heart of Xi'an, a demonic artifact that can empower Pai Mei."
"As if the explosive touch and cannon re-direction weren't already enough to deal with," Po frowned.
"Do you know what the Heart of Xi'an looks like?" asked Shifu. "I've heard tales of the demon Xi'an but no one has ever seen what his heart looks like."
"We never found it," Ping admitted. "Besides, we had to leave soon."
"Do you suppose it was that gemstone we saw on Pai Mei's chair?" asked Li Shan.
"Who knows," Ping shrugged.
"Duke Zhihui and Master Shengqi," Shifu told the two. "I am sorry for the loss of life both Luoyang and Southern Wudang has suffered. But armed with all this knowledge of Northern Wudang's capabilities, our best hope is to issue an open challenge to Pai Mei and his elite to bring them down before anymore loss can occur."
"Please do what you can," requested Shengqi. "I've known Pai Mei a long time and if he achieves his goal, things will get very bad for the people of this country."
"Po, come with me and Tigress," Shifu said to the panda. "We're going to discuss how you can best counter this Sanzu character."
"Wait, you really think I can beat him?" asked Po. "Why not let me fight some other guy and Tigress or Tai Lung can take Sanzu?"
"Because Po," Shifu told him. "It was Oogway's staff that he broke and you are the owner of that staff now. You must show your opponent that not only did your will not get broken in defeat, but also that you and the staff have come back even better than before."
"Well," Po smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I do need to do that."
"Bao, come with me," Tai Lung told the young panda. "I will train you with the short time we have."
"Yes master," Bao agreed.
Before Po would join Shifu, he turned to his two dads.
"Hey dads," Po told the two. "After I'm done with Shifu and Tigress, let's have a Team Dad meeting. We need to come up with a plan."
"What do you need from us?" asked Li Shan as he and Ping looked at each other.
"You guys found out Pai Mei has the Heart of Xi'an somewhere in his throne," Po told his two parents. "Well, the two of you are going to throw a monkey wrench into his demon artifact use. Pun intended on the monkey wrench part because Pai Me is literally a monkey."
"I think I see where you're going with this," Mr. Ping nodded, realizing that both he and Li Shan, despite not being fighters, could help out in more unconventional but still effective ways.
oooo
A few days later.
"This is the place," Tai Lung stood in front of the giant palace.
Po, Tai Lung, Shifu, Tigress, Bao, Mr. Ping, and Li Shan were all there, having made the journey from Southern Wudang.
"Be on your guard, everyone," Shifu cautioned. "We don't know what to expect."
"The messenger goose did tell us to show up here and surrender so I assume they'd be expecting us," Po scratched his head. "But they may not be expecting an open challenge."
"We'll be ready to take them all on!" Bao clenched his fist.
"It's best that this mission remain as a decapitation strike," Shifu looked up at the gates. "If we take out Pai Mei and his elite in battle, we can end the threat of Northern Wudang."
"So I'm going to take on Sanzu," Po inquired. "Have the rest of you decided on what opponents you're going to take?"
"I'm not even totally sure whether I should fight the gorilla or the electric eel," Tai Lung confessed. "So far, we're not totally sure what advantages we possess vis-à-vis them."
Soon, the gates opened up.
In the front were Pai Mei and his elite followers. And behind them were the rest of the Northern Wudang army who looked eager to fight.
"It is good to see you," Pai Mei smiled. "Naturally, just as planets gravitate towards the sun, so too would inferiors like yourself gravitate to your natural superior."
"Humble as always I see," Tai Lung remarked.
"You've been given a chance to surrender yourselves," Mugan pointed out. "I assume you're here to do just that?"
"Actually, no," Po told them.
Everyone in Northern Wudang, save for Pai Mei and his elite soldiers, gasped.
"We're here to issue an open challenge," Po told them. "We'll take on you and your elite in one-on-one battles. If you win, we'll become your servants. But if we win, you'll stop your revolutionary activities and reunify with Southern Wudang."
"Ha," Sanzu laughed. "Are they being serious right now?"
Everybody in Northern Wudang began to laugh at Po's challenge.
Finally, Pai Mei silenced everyone with a gesture.
"You want to challenge me and my elite?" Pai Mei said in a low voice, barely able to hide his desire to prove his power.
"That's my offer," Po smiled.
"Challenge accepted," Pai Mei replied.
"Really?" Bao looked surprised.
"I accepted because you have no chance of ever defeating us," Pai Mei grinned.
"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Hui.
"What's the problem here? Are you scared of what that little panda cub can do with his chi constructs?" Pai Mei looked at Hui funny.
Hui looked around as some Northern Wudang members were chuckling at him and felt a huge swath of pride wash over him. There was simply no way his ego would allow him to be defeated by some panda cub with similar powers and didn't even have much experience with them.
"I… of course not!" Hui declared. "I gladly accept!"
"I'm looking forward to a repeat of our last battle!" Sanzu pointed a finger at Po.
"That's the spirit!" Pai Mei told his followers. "Do we COWER at the thought of someone challenging us? Or do we step up to the challenge?"
"WE STEP UP!" all of Northern Wudang echoed.
"This is going according to plan," Shifu said quietly to Tigress who nodded.
"Here is how this is going to go down," Pai Mei declared. "Scorpion, step forth."
"You called, master?" Scorpion appeared.
"My elite will be waiting for you in different chambers of my stronghold," Pai Mei told the White Lotus Society and Jade Palace members. "Scorpion will take you to each of those chambers. You may pick whoever you wish to battle any one of my elite. But be warned, should all of you be defeated before you reach me, then I will consider this a grave insult and direct my army to raze Luoyang to the ground. Is that clear?"
"We hear you loud and clear," Po promised.
"Good," Pai Mei said as he and his elite soldiers walked inside the palace. "We will be waiting for you inside."
oooo
"Is this really all you've got?" asked Scorpion.
"Well, yeah," Po told her as the entire group followed her down the halls.
"This is not going to end the way you want it to," Scorpion told them. "Master Pai Mei has remained undefeated for decades and you think all of you can just waltz in here and de-throne him?"
"That's kinda the idea, yeah," Tigress told her. "Why else do you think we're here?"
"Each and every one of Pai Mei's elite guard are living weapons," Scorpion sneered. "The rest of you are good but I think we already showed that Northern Wudang is on another level when we decimated the combined forces of the Capitol and Southern Wudang."
"Don't count us out," Po told her. "We may be a ragtag team but we've already taken down some of China's baddest villains together and separately."
"So I've heard," Scorpion did not seem phased. "As I recall, the strongest opponent you've ever faced was Kai. Well, you'll be happy to know that Master Pai Mei now has the means to surpass even Kai."
Ping and Li looked at each other. There was no doubt in their mind that Pai Mei's means of achieving a power beyond even Kai lay in the Heart of Xi'an.
"Underestimate us at your own risk," Tai Lung warned Scorpion.
"Hmph," Scorpion snorted. "We're here now."
At once, the gates opened up to reveal a room that resembled a classic Chinese garden. There were ponds and streams running across the room which could only mean that their first opponent would be aquatic.
"It's one of the fishes, isn't it?" Bao looked around.
"You are wise beyond your years, cub."
Bao and the others turned around and saw Mugan leap out of the pond and onto a ledge.
"Mugan, huh?" Tigress growled. "I've heard stories of your legendary cruelty and fighting abilities."
"They are not stories, child," Mugan told her. "And I've heard of the legendary Tigress who's said to be the greatest of the Furious Five. Oh, how I would've enjoyed breaking your strong will if I had been your master."
"If you wanna go," Tigress snarled. "We can go right now."
"Tigress, wait," Shifu told her.
"Master?" Tigress looked at Shifu.
"If you don't mind, I would like to test the waters," Shifu told her. "You will have your chance."
"Well, if you insist," Tigress agreed.
"Any reason Shifu is picking Mugan?" asked Po.
"If I had to venture a guess, it's because Mugan is another harsh kung fu master with a hardened heart," Tai Lung surmised. "Shifu sees in her something that he would have turned into if you didn't show up in his life, similar to what he saw in Kweng."
"Hmm, yeah that does make sense," Po nodded.
"Shall we begin?" asked Mugan.
"Anytime you want," Shifu told her, holding his staff tightly.
Mugan responded by disappearing into the water. At once, she leaped back out, striking Shifu with a powerful tail slap that caused Shifu to stumble back briefly.
Over and over again, she leaped back into the water and leaped out again to strike at Shifu who was prepared this time and blocked all the attacks.
"She's fast," Po admitted.
"We can't predict where she'll attack from next!" Bao cried.
Mugan appeared from behind Shifu as she leaped out of the water and kicked him, knocking the red panda to the wooden boardwalk in the room.
"I can fight on land or in water," Mugan stood on her two fins. "And you can only fight on land. It doesn't take a genius to see how this is going to end!"
At once, Mugan attacked, striking at Shifu with her fins. Shifu blocked the blows and swung his staff at her. Mugan grabbed hold of it with her fins and pushed the staff back, slamming the other end into Shifu's stomach.
"Omph," Shifu stumbled back.
"Shifu!" Tigress cried.
At once Shifu reacted quickly as Mugan leaped at him. The red panda step-sided her and struck her in the face with a backhand, knocking her against a wall and causing her to fall back into the water.
"Don't count this old master out just yet," Shifu smiled.
Mugan emerged from the water head-first with an enraged expression. But her next attack caught Shifu off-guard. Taking a deep breath, Mugan submerged again and re-emerged, blasting a powerful spray of water at Shifu, narrowly missing his head as Shifu dodged the attack. The waterspout struck a stone fish statue behind Shifu and shattered it on impact.
"Impressive," Shifu noted.
Mugan went underwater and launched the same water blast attack at Shifu over and over again. The red panda leaped and flipped out of the way of the water spray blasts, knowing full well things wouldn't end well if he got hit. Finally, Shifu got a good vantage point as he landed on his feet and hurled his staff, striking Mugan in the face, eliciting a cry of pain. The staff ricocheted back as Shifu caught it.
"Die you decrepit fossil!" Mugan screamed in rage.
The goldfish leaped out of the water and attacked Shifu with a powerful slash of her fin that cut through Shifu's robes.
Shifu dodged and countered multiple blows but some of them still connected.
Mugan slashed Shifu across the face with her razor sharp fins, causing the red panda to grunt in pain. She then slashed him across the stomach, chest, and arms before Shifu kicked her back.
"Death by a thousand cuts," Mugan told him. "How much do you think you can endure?"
"As many as it takes," Shifu told her.
Mugan flipped back into the water and reappeared again, slashing Shifu across his back.
"Agh!"
Disappearing and re-appearing again, Mugan slashed Shifu across the leg to bring the old master to his knees. She could feel Shifu breathing more heavily from her attacks and sooner or later, he would be worn down enough to finish off.
Finally, Mugan disappeared into the water and then came back out, aiming her razor fin right for Shifu's throat. At once, she connected with something but it was not flesh. To her great shock, Mugan realized her fin was caught in Shifu's wooden staff.
"No!" Mugan cried.
"Lured you in with the right bait," Shifu smiled.
At once, Shifu unleashed multiple nerve strikes across Mugan's body.
"Aaaaahhh!" Mugan screamed.
With the goldfish's body falling limp and strength even leaving her fins, Mugan fell off of Shifu's staff as Shifu kicked her into the air. As Mugan fell back down, Shifu swung his staff, knocking Mugan out as the goldfish was sent flying into another stone fish statue, shattering it.
"Nice job Shifu!" Po cried.
"I knew you could do it," Tigress smiled.
"It was my pleasure," Shifu told them. As the group went over to congratulate Shifu, the old master finally fell down to one knee.
"Just have to… catch my breath," Shifu confessed.
Tai Lung and Po both noted that the battle took quite a bit out of Shifu.
Finally, Tai Lung figured out why Shifu elected to fight Mugan rather than let anyone else.
"You knew about Mugan's technique," Tai Lung said to Shifu. "Of all of Pai Mei's minions, Mugan possessed the most slashing techniques and you took this battle in order to take the full brunt of her razor sharp attacks so the rest of us wouldn't."
"You figured it out," Shifu smiled. "I have indeed taught you well, Tai Lung."
"If any of us had fought Mugan, she would've inflicted enough slash wounds on any of us to seriously slow us down even if we did win," Tigress concluded. "That was some risk, master."
"I need all of you fighting at your best against Pai Mei," Shifu nodded. "This was a risk I was willing to take."
"Master Mugan got… defeated?" Scorpion looked almost in shock.
"Ready to admit you underestimated us?" Li Shan asked Scorpion.
"Not… not hardly!" Scorpion stiffened. "What we saw here was only a miracle! Your next opponent will not be so easy!"
"So who's up next?" asked Po.
"Come with me for the answer," Scorpion sneered.
oooo
The next chamber they were in was full of dragon columns with a flat marble floor.
It was apparent that their next opponent would not be one of the aquatic animals and so there would be no surprises from underneath any waves.
"Your next opponent will be the master's personal messenger," Scorpion told them.
Hui appeared next, creating a sword made of red energy. He twirled it around and slashed it across the air a few times.
"This is about as far as any of you will go," Hui promised. "I alone will be enough to crush any aspirations you may have of defeating Master Pai Mei."
The sword in his hand disappeared as Hui's body began to glow with a fearsome red chi energy, surrounding him with what looked like a demonic aura.
"His chi is on another level," Tigress noted.
"Indeed, his power might be on par with the original Four Constellations," Shifu realized.
"So, who will I have the honor of crushing first?" Hui grinned, stroking his mustache.
"I'm going to shatter every construct you create and feed them to you," Tai Lung promised, stepping up.
"Wait, master," Bao protested.
"What?" Tai Lung looked down.
"I know you might think I'm not ready for missions but my powers are similar to his," Bao pointed out. "And you've been training me for the past few days. I might just be the best chance at defeating Hui."
"Yes, but we're up against killers who are looking to overturn this entire country," Tai Lung responded. "If I were entering you into a kung fu tournament, it would be one thing. But these are death matches for the fate of China. I'm not going to risk your life."
"You think this is a death match?" Hui frowned. "Well, it's only fair for you to assume so since all of us are playing for keeps and I did threaten the Panda Village with destruction. However, since I am in a sporting mood, I will keep the combat between myself and the cub non-lethal. No bladed constructs and nothing which would inflict mortal wounds. I very much desire to see what this child is capable of with his powers. You have my word."
Tai Lung looked at Hui and then Bao who looked at him with insistent eyes before relenting.
"To make this fair to account for our discrepancy in experience, Bao may attack me with any blade, sword, or spear constructs he wants, assuming he can create them," Hui promised.
"If you break your self-made rules, your life will be forfeit," Tai Lung promised Hui. "And should my student lose, I will be fighting you next."
"Agreed," Hui nodded.
"Thank you Master Tai Lung," Bao bowed to the snow leopard.
"Shall we begin?" Hui offered. "Come at me with anything you desire, child."
Bao created two purple sword constructs in his hands and charged, swinging them at Hui who simply created a red energy shield and blocked the blows. Soon, Bao was seemingly forcing the goose back.
Taking a wide swing, Bao missed just as Hui ducked and smashed Bao in the chest with his red chi shield to knock the panda cub back several feet.
As Bao got up, Hui had created a red energy staff in his hand. The goose swung it down hard, cracking the floor as Bao rolled away. Bao got up but Hui struck him with the red chi staff from multiple angles.
"Aaaagh!" Bao cried in pain.
Hui kicked Bao back. The panda cub rolled across the ground as he finally fell on his face. Hui was onto him in an instant, raising his red staff and bringing it down.
At once, Bao summoned his entire energy and created a tortoise shell from purple chi to envelope his entire body as Hui's staff construct shattered on contact with the top part of the shell.
"What?!" Hui growled.
Bao got up as chi began to surge around his body.
"As the reincarnation of Master Black Tortoise, I will find a way to defeat you," Bao promised.
"We shall see about that, boy!" Hui snarled.
To be continued.