Through the Looking Glass: Penance: Chapter 8
Ultimatum: Chapter 8
Somehow, Tai Lung had made it through the large crowd without being noticed by anyone. He attributed this to the fact that there were plenty of bulls milling about the marketplace as Miles and Crane led him on.
Finally, they came upon a modest building made entirely of bamboo with a small door leading in. It was open at the time, so Crane peeked in. Tai Lung and Miles decided to hang back outside just in case.
The bird looked up and saw the little entrance gong that Mei Ling kept on the side. It was more of an opera gong, really, but the bird never minded. Mantis crawled onto his head, a wooden beater in his pincers as he looked up at the gong. Jumping up, he hit the gong with a well-timed strike to its center.
Almost instantly, a female mountain lion poked her head through a doorway in the house. Upon noticing Crane in the entrance, she smiled, and she put down whatever she had been doing and ran over to the entrance!
"Master Crane!" she said.
"Oh, don't give me that, Mei Ling!" replied Crane just before he was swept into a friendly hug. "It's just, 'Crane' between us. Listen, I've got a huge, huge favor to ask."
It was then that the female cat noticed Tai Lung standing in the doorway. She shrunk back at this, apprehension in her eyes.
"It's not what you think!" cried Crane suddenly as he entered the house. "Please, just let us explain."
Tai Lung and Miles entered the small abode after this, Mei Ling keeping an ever-incessant eye on the snow leopard as he entered the room. A tense silence lasting about a full minute took hold of the small room, the woman prepared to fight in case Tai Lung lunged at her. A full minute passed, and then she noticed that the snow leopard was not making any moves towards her at all. When she noticed this, she blinked, looking to Crane uncertainly.
"Okay, okay," said the female cat at length. "Talk. If he isn't trying to kill me, then I'll take your word for it."
"Good," said Crane. "It's a bit complicated, so it might take a while to explain."
"It's market day," replied Mei Ling as a smirk came on her face. "I won't have anything to teach all day."
"Okay then," said Tai Lung, bowing respectfully.
And the group of four went on to explain their tale as they all walked into Mei Ling's kitchen.
"And that's basically it. I'm not here to cause havoc; I'm here because I think Miles could use the help."
The mountain lion was busy moving around the small kitchen, preparing some soup for the four of them. The cups were already splayed out in front of them, waiting to be filled by the liquidy substance that Mei Ling was preparing in a pot over a fire.
"I see..." she said. "So you think this 'Cream' person is in Beijing..."
"It's the only real place the kidnapper could've gone being in the Devil's Mouth," countered Mantis as he sat on the small table. "I think..."
"Yeah," said Miles tentatively. "I just hope she's okay..."
"Trust me, by the time we're done searching for her, she'll be fine," replied Crane.
"But you guys do need a plan of attack, yes?" asked Mei Ling. "So what do we do?"
Mantis shrugged. "Well, we did have to go report to the Emperor that Tai Lung was captured," the insect said.
"You're not suggesting saying anything about this to him, do you?" asked Miles, hair standing on end as Tai Lung glared at him.
The insect shrugged. "I don't know what it is," he said. "But there's this nagging doubt in my mind that something bigger is going on here."
Crane's expression shifted slightly, and then the other three occupants of the room raised their eyebrows, confused at what conclusion the bird might have reached. "It's Wang Dun's story concerning Tai Lung's escape, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." replied Mantis. "I thought it was a little odd how a bird could go back and forth between Chohr Gom and Beijing in a single day..." Mei Ling and Miles nodded as the insect turned to face Tai Lung. "And now that we have the man himself here... I wonder, how did you escape despite having little food and water?"
Tai Lung shook his head, a grimace coming across his face. "A scout helped me out."
This sent everybody except Miles staring at him in shock. Without anything else impeding him, Tai Lung continued. "Some bird scout dressed in black helped me escape from Chohr Gom. He said I would be useful to someone. I still don't know who wanted me, or what he would've needed me for."
Crane and Mantis both gave each other glances. "A... Are you sure you're not just trying to throw us off?"
"He told me the same thing," butted in Miles before Tai Lung could reply. "He never mentioned anything about what exactly it was, but I'm sure it's the same one. Trust me when I tell you that he would not have escaped without his help; when I found Tai Lung, his tongue was swollen from lack of water. If he had gone another day without water when I found him he would've died."
The other three occupants glanced at each other, thoughts running through their heads. "This goes deep," said Mei Ling, crossing her arms in front of her. "Whoever kidnapped Cream is definitely linked with Tai Lung's escape. And we also know he's related to Wang Dun somehow."
"Okay, so I guess it's settled then," replied Crane. "I'll go to the imperial palace with Mantis, and we'll say what we had intended to before all this happened. And then I'll go look for Cream under the cover of visiting you."
"And I'll stay behind to keep an eye on Wang Dun," added Mantis. "Whatever happens there, I should be able to tell you about."
"Which leaves us three," said Miles, gesturing to himself, Mei Ling, and Tai Lung. "What should we do?"
Mei Ling shrugged. "Depending on how you think of it, rescuing her by night would be much, much easier, yes?" she asked.
"So have us find her by day and then rescue her by night is what you're saying?" asked Miles.
The mountain lion nodded as she peered into the pot of soup. Grabbing a ladle from nearby, he took the first of the soup cups and dipped the ladle in the pot. "Pretty much," replied the woman.
"So what do you suggest we do?" asked Tai Lung.
"Tai Lung, I think you should stay here during the day," replied the mountain lion, much to the chagrin of the leopard. "We can't run the risk of the imperial guard seeing you free. Especially after Crane and Mantis tell the emperor about you."
"But what am I going to do then?" asked the leopard uncertainly.
Smirking deviously, Mei Ling looked up as she poured the soup into the cup. "You and I could always spar until sunset," she offered, setting the cup down in front of Mantis and picking up Miles' empty cup. "I've always wanted to know what facing the master of all 1000 scrolls of kung fu would be like."
Smiling at this, Tai Lung rubbed his chin. "I think I'll take you on that offer," he said. "So then what will Miles do in the meantime?"
"I'll go looking for Cream, of course," replied the kitsune as his cup of soup was placed in front of him. "Help Crane out a little bit by exploring different parts of the city."
"Okay, so it's settled, then," said Crane.
"Okay," the mountain lion said as she set Tai Lung's soup cup in front of him, the steaming liquid filling it nearly to the brim. "So have some lunch here, and let's get down to business!"
The group of four nodded as the female cat picked up the crane's soup cup, and as soon as that was filled the group treated itself to her very tasty concoction.
Mantis and Crane felt very stiff as they paraded into the imperial throne room. Looking in, they saw the emperor of China sitting grandly on a large chair. Guards flanked all over the room, Wang Dun standing right beside the emperor stoically. As soon as the two entered, the emperor bowed his head in respect to the two kung fu warriors.
"Good day, members of the Furious Five," began the emperor. "I trust you have something to report?"
"We do, milord," replied Crane as Mantis bowed on top of the bird's head. "We have captured Tai Lung. Master Tigress had us come ahead to bring you the news."
"Excellent," replied the emperor, nodding contentedly. "And I trust the rest of the Five and the Dragon Warrior are on their way here with the prisoner?"
"Yes, milord," replied the bird. "We did wind up in the Devil's Mouth, however, so it may take them a little longer than usual to arrive."
"Still, it is good to see that China's most wanted criminal will finally be put to justice," said the emperor. "A third time," he added, with a distasteful grimace.
"Well, you know what they say, milord," pointed out Mantis. "'Third time's the charm.' At least this time he'll be out for good."
"Indeed," replied the bull stoically. "I thank you for this news. You may stay here at the imperial palace until the rest of the five come."
Crane and Mantis both bowed to the emperor. "Thank you, my lord," replied the two of them.
The emperor nodded to his guards. "Guards!" he said. "Show them to their quarters."
"Yes, sir!" barked the guards quickly.
Stoically walking forward, the guards nodded to the two kung fu masters, and then Crane and Mantis were both following the guards to their quarters.
When the two of them had left the throne room, Mantis leaned close.
"Did you notice Wang Dun's expression in there?" asked the insect, whispering so Crane could hear but the guards could not. "I think he looked a little disturbed..."
The bird nodded, the two of them continuing on to their quarters in silence.
Miles had begun walking around the city of Beijing. The kitsune was keeping a rather heavy eye out for the alleys; many, many markets stalls were in his way, but he knew that not only did he have to keep a low profile, but that Cream would not be in the open when she had been abducted. His pack was still around his shoulder; Mei Ling had advised him to leave it behind, but he had insisted on taking it.
He looked around aimlessly, not even noticing when the crowd had dispersed. When he did, however, he found himself completely alone. Gulping nervously and tugging on his burgundy vest, the kitsune advanced into the area.
Looking around him, he noticed a side of the city that very few people seemed to want to venture into. All around him were rather nice buildings, but the people around them were destitute, stuck in poverty. Miles figured he had accidentally wandered into the slums of Beijing. This, however, did not phase him; he figured Cream would probably be more likely to show up in a slum than she did in the more opulent portion of the city. Pulling his vest over him as his sapphire eyes glanced around uncertainly, he pressed forward, glancing into the alleyways as he moved.
It was in this way that he suddenly thought he saw Cream standing in a crowd of beautiful women. He had nearly walked right past the particular alley when he stopped, the sight of the rabbit fresh in his around, he took a step or two backwards and peered into the alleyway.
And indeed, there she was, wearing a strange dress of orange with flowers woven into the fabric that the kitsune could not make out. The rabbit had not noticed his presence yet, however, so Miles made it a point to surprise her with his presence.
However, a rather large man appeared from the wall of the valley that he had not seen. The figure towered over the kitsune, staring down at him with suspicious yellow eyes. The man was a rather large predatory cat with bulging muscles and a look that Miles swore could kill. The man in front of him was a tiger, white fur being marred only by black stripes as he looked coldly down at Miles in his dress of pants and a plain vest. Looking down at the kitsune, he smiled, the smile sending shivers down the kitsune's back.
"So, you're here for them?" asked the man in front of him. "You look a bit young to be hanging out with them."
Miles decided he had to play along. "Well, I..." he began uncertainly, his cover story coming to him as he thought of it. "I'm actually sixteen, sir. I ran away from home... and I'm alone... And I was thinking maybe..."
"...to try my harem?" asked the figure, chuckling darkly. "Ah, you have come to the right place then. My harem has the finest women in China, I can assure you that. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you. Just pay up, take your pick, and go inside. Anything will be good payment."
It was at this moment that Miles was relieved he had stuck by his decision to take his pack with him. Setting the bag down, his hand worked through it, eventually going to the carving knife he had in there. Hopefully, he would not be needing it anymore, and it would be good since he could avoid suicidal thoughts faster. Pulling it out of the bag, he revealed this.
"Perhaps my knife for an hour with the rabbit girl in the orange dress?" asked Miles.
The tiger took the weapon in his hand, inspecting the blade carefully. As he did, he smiled, the kitsune becoming progressively more creeped out by the smile.
"Yes, this will do just fine," said the cat, stepping out of the way of his entrance. "I hope you enjoy her. She's new here, so go easy on her, all right?"
The fox nodded at this as he slung his pack over his shoulders. His heart was racing at a very fast speed as he approached the rabbit who he realized he knew so well. He stepped closer to her, glad that she had not noticed him yet. It took all of his will not to pounce on her, for he still felt the eyes of the man who had essentially sold the rabbit's body to him on his person, threatening him with death if he tried anything funny.
Cream had not noticed anything until Miles roughly put a hand on her shoulder. Making sure not to look back, he quickly dove into the doorway that became all to visible to him as he entered the crowd. Going through the door, he let out a breath as he looked to Cream.
Before he could get a single word out of his person within the building, the rabbit had tackled Miles to the ground, caramel eyes closed as she cried into the kitsune's shoulder.
"Oh, Tails, you're alive, you're alive, you're alive!" said Cream. "I was so worried!"
"And to think, I found you!" he whispered softly as he sat up on the ground. Cream unwrapped her arm from his person, looking at him with a smile.
"I've been looking for you forever," said the rabbit. "But still... I didn't think--!"
"Shh..." replied Miles as he stood up quickly. "I purchased an hour with you. We should probably get into... wherever you are before he starts noticing anything. I'll tell you more then."
Cream could not agree more with the kitsune. Glancing back at the doorway, the rabbit took a hold of the fox's wrist.
"This way," she said.
And the rabbit led him to a flight of rather dark stairs. He felt himself get carried up until he found himself in a corridor that was fairly dim in its lighting. Cream advanced down the hallway, stopping around the fourth door to her right. She turned then and gestured the kitsune into the room.
"After you," she said.
Miles shrugged and entered the room, the candle providing very little light as he set his pack down by the door. Cream entered shortly afterwards, closing the door behind her as she looked at the kitsune.
"Tails, I didn't think you were into sex these days..." replied the rabbit.
The kitsune shook his head, chuckling bitterly as he sat on what he assumed was the bed. "I'm not," he replied, simply. "I heard about what happened with your kidnapping. And before you ask, I heard from someone who saw your kidnapper making away with you."
"And what do you plan on doing about it?" asked the rabbit, almost too innocently.
"Rescuing you, that's what," he said. "I have a friend here in Beijing with me. He'll be able to help me rescue you. But we've gotta wait until night. That... tiger there won't see what hit him. We'll be like thieves in the night."
Cream shook her head upon hearing the tiger being mentioned. "Tan Tao," she said. "That's his name. He threatened to rape me if I didn't put myself on the streets. I... I don't want to have to sell my body like this..."
"Well, aside from me, did anybody else take interest in you?" asked the kitsune, fur on end as he waited for whatever answer.
To his great relief, he saw Cream shake her head in the lighting. "Thankfully, no," she said. "But he has his ways..."
Miles shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his vest where it was on his shoulders and looking at Cream. Slowly, he felt her hand wander onto hers, and in the brief contact Cream shuddered softly.
"Cream..." he began. "I can't believe you chased me around the world for two years."
"I wanted to see your face again," she said nervously. "We all did. I was just the only one who did something about it. At least, I think..."
"I'll bet your mom's worried sick," Miles said, looking away from the rabbit briefly.
At this, the rabbit simply laughed. "Trust me, I wrote to her all the time," she replied. "At least, until I got into China. It's too bad I never heard from her at all..."
Miles nodded at this, thinking about other things. "Did you call anyone?"
Cream shrugged. "I called Amy once around six months ago," she said. "Tails... She gave birth to Sonic's twin sons while you were gone."
Miles was so shocked by this sudden revelation that all of his fur stood on end, his two tails jerked into a stiff position. "She what?" he exclaimed, loud enough to be shocked but not loud enough to be heard.
"I was just as shocked as you were," Cream replied. "Apparently she and Sonic made love the day before you died. She's gotten over his death really fast because of that."
The kitsune smiled, teeth glinting slightly in the light. "I'm glad she did," he said. "It makes me feel better about myself. I didn't think anyone could forgive me for what I did... It was awful, thinking the whole world hated you..."
The rabbit brushed one of her ears to the side. "And what made you change your mind?" she asked.
"Meeting my friend," replied Miles, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It's a long story. But... it led to me seeing Sonic in my dream." Before the rabbit could interrupt, he continued. "It was the best dream I've had in years, Cream. Sonic told me I had been forgiven by everybody... Cream, is that true?"
The rabbit nodded without a second's hesitation. "They did," she said simply. "It's partly why I set off on my quest to find you. Tails..."
Miles shook his head, a tear coming to his eye as he thought of the dreadful day two years ago. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry for running away. I just... I didn't think you guys would forgive me..."
"After explicitly seeing Eggman ordering you around?" asked Cream as she wiped the tear from the kitsune's face gently. "Of course we forgave you!"
Miles sniffled, smiling. "That's..." he started, uncertain of exactly what to say. "Thanks. It's good to know you still care."
Cream nodded. "You're welcome," she said. "We just want you to come home."
"Well, after we get ourselves out of this mess, I plan on going home," he replied. "I hope you don't mind that my friend who's going to help me tonight is going to come as well. He's... he's a former criminal... And he needs a chance to start over."
The rabbit nodded, eyes lit up in happiness. "You know they won't mind," she said. "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours, remember?"
"Yeah, that's true," said Miles, glancing at the door briefly. "Tan Tao... I hope he's not here."
Cream shook her head. "Even then, he has his ways of finding out if we've just sat here talking all day..." she said. "I... I don't know what to do..."
Miles shrugged. "Well, your fear is that someone you don't even know would take things too hard on you, yes?"
Cream nodded, surprised by this question. "Wait, are you saying... you and me...?"
The kitsune closed his eyes, nodding. "To be honest, I had a bit of a crush on you before that whole debacle started..." he said. "I... I'll try to be careful..."
Cream nodded as Miles removed his vest from his person. "Okay..." she said uncertainly. "I'll... I'll trust you with this."
Miles flashed her an uncertain smile as Cream began to undress herself. Nervously, the two of them looked at each other, unsure of whether this was the right choice or not.
In Mei Ling's dojo, there was a chalkboard. Tai Lung and Mei Ling's names were written on the board, with a bunch of slashes under them.
There were only two slashes under Mei Ling's name, while Tai Lung had accumulated around ten slashes. The snow leopard added yet another slash to his ten, and looking back at the form of Mei Ling curled up on the mat, he placed the piece of chalk down.
Walking back to the young woman, he shook her awake after one of his nerve strikes. The cat opened her eyes groggily, the snow leopard helping her up.
"Wow..." began Mei Ling, rubbing an area behind her head uncertainly. "I lost again, huh?"
"Unfortunately," replied Tai Lung. "You put up a really good fight, though. I almost thought you were going to get another win in for a second there."
"Yeah..." she said. "I guess the master of all one thousand scrolls has his weak points..."
Tai Lung shrugged at this notion. "Well, if the Dragon Warrior managed to beat me without looking at any of the other one thousand scrolls as you tell me, well..."
At this, they suddenly heard a knock on the door. Mei Ling looked concerned at this, and she glanced at Tai Lung quickly.
"Go hide somewhere," she instructed quickly, running to the doorway that was the entrance to her house.
The mountain lion checked the doorway only to find Crane standing there. Sighing in relief, she looked over to the member of the Furious Five.
"Oh, you gave me a bit of a scare there," said Mei Ling. "I thought it was a student..."
"Nah, don't worry about it," replied the bird as he entered. "Tai Lung, you can come out now!"
The snow leopard then just jumped into view inside the dojo, getting into a fighting stance as he eyed Crane playfully. Surprised, the bird looked between the leopard and the lion.
"You two have been going at it since Tails left, haven't you?" he asked.
"What can I say?" asked Tai Lung with a shrug. "It's nice to get back into one on one combat. after having been outnumbered six to one. Not because I can win easier, but it's nice to only have to concentrate on one person."
"That's always good," replied Crane as he and Mei Ling stepped into the dojo. "Is Tails back?"
Both predatory cats shook their heads. "Nope," replied Mei Ling. "You're the first person to check back in with us."
"Oh," said Crane. "I didn't have any luck finding her. Maybe Tails did?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Tai Lung. "He's taking a lot longer than I thought he would..."
"Ah, well," said the bird, looking at the chalkboard on the far end of the dojo. "Gimme a second..."
And the bird approached the board slowly, and looked up at the scoreboard. Deviously, he grabbed a piece of chalk in his foot, and flying up, he wrote his name in the center where Mei Ling and Tai Lung's names were not occupying any space. Looking back at Tai Lung, he found the leopard and the lion both smiling deviously.
"So, up to a three-way spar?" asked Tai Lung, crossing his arms in front of him as his yellow eyes lit up playfully.
"Sure," said Crane, depositing the chalk on the board rather carefully.
Miles put his vest back on, panting slightly as he sat on the side of the bed. His fur clung to his skin from the sweat, and he sincerely hoped that Mei Ling had a bath in her home.
Cream laid in the bed, tired beyond all else as she looked up at Miles with a small smile on her face.
"Thanks..." she said, softly. "I couldn't have asked for a better first person to... well..."
The kitsune smiled, glad that Cream at least appreciated the gesture. "I know," he said, patting her hand lightly. "I'm glad I was able to help you even in one small thing like this..."
"Tails..." she began softly. "Do... do you think anything will be the same after today?"
Miles shook his head. "After what happens when I come back with my friend to rescue you?" he asked in turn. "I don't think so. I know that we'll both go straight home the next chance we get."
Cream nodded, seeming to be satisfied by that answer. "I can't wait to see Amy's reaction to seeing you again."
The kitsune chuckled at this, appreciating the rabbit's humor. Standing up, he turned around and leaned over the bed, giving a small kiss on Cream's forehead.
"I'll be back," he said softly into her ear. "And when I do return, I'll try my damn best to get you out of here."
And with this, the kitsune walked to the door and grabbed his pack. He gave a last glance at the rabbit he had just made slow, sweet love with to assure her that everything was all right. Smiling, the rabbit drifted off to sleep.
It was then that the kitsune exited the room, keeping his gaze trained on his sleeping friend as he closed the door softly. Looking down the corridor, he burned the location into his memory and then promptly left the whorehouse, his pack slung over his shoulder and a small smile on his face.