Through the Looking Glass: Penance, Chapter 9
Ultimatum: Chapter 9
When Miles had finally gotten to Mei Ling's doorway, the sun was just beginning to set. He heard the sounds of fighting coming from deep within the small house. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the kitsune slowly walked towards the sounds.
What he saw dazzled him; Tai Lung, Mei Ling, and Crane were engaged in a three-way brawl that somehow had not destroyed anything yet. Punches and kicks had been flying all over the place, and when the kitsune noticed this he crossed his arms in front of him, looking on in curiousity. Watching intently for a few seconds, he watched as the three of them attempted to land blows on each other, all of them so involved in what they were doing that they had barely noticed Miles entrance.
The kitsune smiled briefly and set his pack down by the doorway.
"So I see you guys kept yourselves occupied while I was gone," he said suddenly.
All action inside the dojo came to an abrupt halt, all three of the other occupants looking at Miles as they held their fighting stances.
"Oh, you're back!" said Mei Ling, dropping her stance.
"Did you find her?" asked Crane as he and Tai Lung both sauntered over to the doorway.
"Yeah, I did," replied the kitsune. "She's in the nastier-looking part of Beijing."
Mei Ling nodded. "Oh, dear..." she said. "How did you find her?"
Miles shook her head. "Whoever had kidnapped her had forced her to become a prostitute," the fox said softly.
The mountain lion's hand instantly went to her mouth, the cat getting a very frightened look on her face. Crane looked on with concern at this. "She... she hadn't been touched, had she?"
"Not when I got to her..." replied Miles with a shrug. "When I got there though... well... I... I kinda... you know..."
Tai Lung rolled his eyes. "Were you gentle?" he asked. "And careful?"
Miles nodded quickly in reply. "Yeah, I was," he said. "I had a crush on her before that debacle happened. I just didn't want her to have to have someone brutalize her during her first time. She did give me her consent, too..."
Mei Ling let out a huge sigh of relief as Crane nodded. "Fortune is certainly with us," said the mountain lion.
Tai Lung nodded in agreement as he turned to Miles. "So, Miles," he said. "You remember where this place was, right?"
"Of course," replied the kitsune. "We'll wait for the sun to go completely down."
"All right," said the snow leopard. "Crane, you should probably get back to the emperor's palace."
The bird nodded, turning to the three of them. "I'll see you guys later tonight when I can sneak Mantis and myself out."
And with this, the crane left the small house, leaving the three people already in there to talk amongst themselves.
A knock came on the rabbit's door. Stirring slightly, the rabbit looked over to the door.
"Come in..." she said softly.
The door opened, and in the dim lighting of the hallway she was able to make out the form of Tai Xue, matronly smile across her features.
"Oh, hi," said the rabbit drowsily as the snow leopardess walked over.
"Cream," she said. "I heard you sold yourself to your first client today. Apparently Tan Tao was very pleased with the results..."
The rabbit shook her head, smiling. "The client..." she said. "He happened to be that friend I was looking for."
A shocked silence came upon Tai Xue's eyes as she looked down at the rabbit. She stared for a few seconds in awe before smiling broadly.
"Oh, that is wonderful!" she said simply. "I hope he is all right."
"He is," replied the rabbit, hoping Tai Xue would not ask any questions. "I'm sorry. I'm kind of tired right now..."
"Oh, apologies for having barged in then!" said the older snow leopard as she backed towards the door. "I figured I might check on you, but it seems you are all right."
Cream smiled softly. "I appreciate the gesture, though," she said. "Thanks."
"It is always my pleasure, my dear," replied Tai Xue softly as she peered at the young rabbit from the doorway. "Good night."
The rabbit was too tired to inquire about the time of day, so she simply grabbed her pillow. "Good night," she replied sweetly.
And then the elderly woman closed the door behind her, letting Cream to herself as thoughts of the kitsune came into the rabbit's mind again.
Tai Lung jumped onto the roof of Mei Ling's small house, the mountain lion looking as she swept the ground in front of her home. Miles held onto his shoulders intently, gaze set forward. The stars were glittering brilliantly overhead, the rest of China having fallen asleep by this point.
"Are you sure you two can do this without my help?" asked the mountain lion.
"If this 'Tan Tao' person sees you, there's no telling what will happen," replied Miles. "If he and Wang Dun are at least acquaintances, you know we're all done."
Mei Ling nodded, and then he looked up at Tai Lung. "You be careful out there."
The snow leopard nodded at this, giving the female cat a thumbs-up sign as he cracked a smile. "I escaped from Chohr Gom and I beat all of the Furious Five before I met the Dragon Warrior," he said. "I can take on a crime lord and his victims!"
The other predatory cat nodded at this, seeing the leopard's point. "May good fortune be with you!" she said.
Both leopard and fox looked down at Mei Ling, smiling at her with a wink.
Tai Lung set off into the night rapidly, the kitsune clinging on as he looked over from over his friend's shoulder.
It was very late at night, and there was still no sign of any clues that might have been left behind by Miles or Tai Lung. The fact that the mist was still hanging over the valley did not help matters any.
It was in this state that Po found himself looking around as he and the Furious Five headed for Beijing. Tigress had already ranted quite angrily about how Tai Lung disappearing on them could not have been a good thing, going so far as to insinuate that the little kitsune kid had something to do with his escape. She continually asserted that Tai Lung had seen it coming. At this assumption, Po and Viper had exchanged glances, the two of them both knowing that Tigress was wrong in this regard but keeping their mouths shut nonetheless to avoid getting her even angier than she already had been.
They had thus been going forward since the day began, never once resting much to the chagrin of everybody in the group. However, nobody really complained as they all knew it could not be avoided.
It was with this that the group moved along in the forest, spying every detail. Tigress had not seen anything interesting, so the group had continued on.
A sound caught Tigress' attention, however. Her ears suddenly perked up, listening intently. The other three people in the small group noticed this, and so they readied their fighting positions as Tigress listened intently.
However, her tail stiffened visibly as she saw a small form dash by in the misty forest. Eyes widening in shock, she stood up slowly.
"Master Shifu?"
This question baffled the other three travellers with her, but before they could ask the cat had broken out into a run. Shrugging, the rest followed closely behind as Tigress began calling out her master's name.
And then suddenly the four of them found themselves face to face with their aging master, the red panda looking at the group in a great deal of surprise.
"Master Shifu!" said Po almost instantly, coming forward. "What're you doin' here?"
The old kung fu master shook his head. "I need to find Cream," he said. "She was kidnapped two nights ago."
At this, everybody else was rather shocked. "No way..." said Viper, lips pursed in uncertainty. "That can't be true, master!"
"It is true," Shifu replied. "I came to look for her."
"Wait a minute," said Tigress, crossing her arms in front of her. "How come you're not guarding the Dragon Scroll?"
Shifu was about to reprimand his student for asking, but as he opened his mouth the words died on his tongue. The tiger truly did have a point, and the visions he had seen came flooding back into his mind in an instant.
"I have been recieving visions," replied the red panda. "Visions of what's to come. The Dragon Scroll will not be touched according to them."
"That's not reassuring," said Viper. "We had captured Tai Lung, but he escaped, and he could be after you."
The master pursed his lips together, thinking. "Was... Tails, as Cream calls him... Was he with Tai Lung when you caught him?"
All four of them looked at each other before shaking their heads almost simultaneously. "He wasn't," said Po.
It was then that Shifu smiled, throwing all four of the warriors off. "Then destiny has successfully run its course," said the panda. "And Tai Lung has changed for the better."
Tigress' form stiffened at this as Viper and Po looked at each other, the great panda's eyes lighting up in amusement as the snake simply nodded.
"W-what?" asked the cat, blinking. "That's impossible! Tai Lung could have sent that kid to get him afterwards!"
Po shook his head as he placed a hand on Tigress' shoulder. "He's right, Tigress," he said. Before she could yell at Po, too, he continued. "You know what I saw just before Tai Lung fell asleep yesterday?" Tigress was silent at this, and when the silence had persisted long enough Po took this as a cue to continue. "I saw him cry last night. It was just before he fell asleep. He cried tears, Tigress."
"And they were not fake tears, either," added Viper, sensing the cat's doubt. "I saw them too. They were tears of a man who had lost someone close to him. Those tears, cannot be faked. He really was concerned for Tails, Tigress."
The cat said nothing, letting the silence speak for itself. Finally, she sighed, raising her paws. "All right," she said. "I'll trust you with this. But if it turns out that I was right all along, you'll be hearing from me about it."
Shifu closed his eyes and nodded once. "I shall see you proven wrong eventually," he said. "I shall continue looking for Cream. I expect you all to look for Tai Lung as well. If he has changed as my visions have foretold, I give you full permission to get him to leave China forever."
The Dragon Warrior and the three members of the Five that were with him nodded, bowing to their master. "Don't die on us, whatever you do."
Shifu simply looked at his students with confidence, although Viper could have sworn that she saw some other emotion flicker briefly on his aged sapphire orbs. With this, the red panda darted off into the woods, Po and his group of friends standing there uncertain of what they would have to do next.
Tai Lung landed gracefully on a rooftop, crouching down as Miles looked around.
"Did this look like the right spot?" asked Tai Lung as the kitsune looked around him.
"It is," he said simply after looking at the street patterns. "That Tan Tao guy won't know what hit him."
"Okay," said the snow leopard as he looked into a small, ornate room that had windows into it. "Let us rescue Cream, then."
The kung fu warrior wasted no time jumping down soundlessly into the room that he had seen. Miles followed suit, jumping in and landing in Tai Lung's arms. The kitsune suddenly noticed a woman sleeping in a rather ornate bed. Eyes wide, he pointed at her to Tai Lung, who then turned his head to see the woman there.
"A woman leading a harem, of all things," said Tai Lung bitterly.
"Not the case here," whispered Miles. "The guy that sold Cream to me was a man, most definitely. So who is this lady...?"
The snow leopard thought it best to shake his head. "Forget it," he said. "She's probably not that important, anyway. Come on, Miles. Let's go."
"And we should try not to go this way when we leave," said Miles. "I don't want to risk waking that woman up."
And without another word, the two of them slowly tiptoed to the single door that they had noticed. Slowly, they opened it, being careful not to wake up the sleeping woman as they closed the door softly behind them.
As soon as they did, however, the 'sleeping' woman sat up abruptly, looking to the door. She had kept her eyes almost closed the entire time, but she was able to make out many things.
Probably the biggest thing being that the snow leopard she had caught glimpses of looked so very familiar. The way his brows curved, the way his eyes were set on his head. It set her thinking about many things.
Without much of a thought to why she felt so strongly towards the snow leopard, she got out of the bed, following out as quietly as she could to avoid detection by the intruders into Tan Tao's harem.
Cream felt herself get shaken awake. Groaning and shaking her head, she opened her eyes slowly in the room still lit by candlelight.
She was instantly awake when she saw Miles' sapphire eyes gleaming in the space above her. Smiling, the rabbit looked at Miles with grateful caramel eyes.
"I told you I'd be back," he said.
Before the kitsune knew what had hit him, the rabbit had jumped out of the bed, hugging Miles with all of her might. It was when she saw Tai Lung's figure in the doorway that she frowned.
"Oh, uh... hi," said Tai Lung nervously. "I'm Tai Lung. I'm... Miles' friend."
"Your eyes are just like his..." said Cream, shaking softly as she looked at the snow leopard and broke the hug nervously.
Sensing her discomfort, the kitsune patted her back. "It's okay," he said reassuringly. "He's not Tan Tao. It's going to be all right."
The rabbit nodded, uncertain of what to believe. She came forward, and when she felt herself get hoisted onto Tai Lung's back, she felt the figure smiling at her.
"Don't worry, Cream," he said reassuringly. "I'm a good friend of Miles'. Just, trust me. I can get you out of here."
Cream nodded uncertainly, deciding to take Tai Lung's word for it and trust him.
"Okay, that takes care of that," said Miles as the three of them stepped out of the room. "Now let's get out of here before Tan Tao gets here!"
"Right!" whispered the other two.
Miles and Tai Lung then quickly ran over to the end of the hallway, running down the stairs quite rapidly when they got there. Cream simply held on to Tai Lung's broad shoulders as he thundered down the stairs quietly. They reached the foot of the stairs and then stepped out into the room. They had gone quite a distance into the room, the exit just within their reach.
However, they suddenly came to a halt in the center of the room, for then they saw a bunch of men standing at the doorway and windows of the large room. They looked all around them and saw the sihlouettes of men with weapons standing around. And before Tai Lung could even rush back to the stairs with Cream in tow, a group of warriors had also taken a stance there. It was then that Tai Lung and Miles looked around them, the leopard snarling as the kitsune looked on in fear.
And then, a candle was lit disturbingly close to where they had been mere seconds earlier. There, was the grinning form of Tan Tao, dark stripes pronounced on his white fur as he looked at them, yellow eyes glinting smugly.
"Ah, I see that fox guy liked you enough to try to rescue you, eh?" taunted the tiger. "I bet he liked your pussy so much he decided to take you away."
"Shut up!" cried the kitsune in an outraged voice, the fear in his system suddenly evaporating at this comment. "She was my friend even before all this!"
"And what makes you think I can take that seriously?" chuckled the crime lord darkly.
Cream shook her head. "You wouldn't care," she spat in a method that surprised even her. "Especially not being who you are!"
Tan Tao had moved to look at Cream when he suddenly noticed the man who she was hanging on to. Smirking and chuckling, the war lord began pacing around the room.
"Well, well, well..." he said, looking the criminal in the eyes. "If it isn't the great Tai Lung himself. I am honored that you are here tonight. I've been waiting for your... presence... ever since I sent that scout out."
Tai Lung raised an eyebrow at this moment. "So you're the one who sent out the scout!" he said. "Wang Dun would never appreciate that!"
The tiger simply smiled about this smugly, setting the candle down on a nearby table. "See, that is where you are wrong," replied the crime lord. "Wang Dun is a very good friend of mine. He has enough power to bribe people not to say anything as well. I tend to look for... noble qualities in my allies. Wang Dun has served my criminal empire well." Here, he began pacing around the room. "Prostitution? The emperor has no knowledge of any of my harems. Drug rings? All under my command. Illegal arms dealing? Couldn't be more proftable."
"Cut the bullshit, now!" said Miles, waving his hand in front of him. "What did you want him for?"
"What else?" asked the crime lord smugly. "To spread anarchy and chaos across the land. No matter how much there is in this land, it would only benefit my aims that much more. And then my criminal empire can remain safe. Maybe you could be a higher officer in that emire, and maybe I could make people see you for who you really are..."
The three individuals just stood there, the atmosphere in the room so tense that it could be cut with a dagger. Slowly, Tai Lung's eyes followed Tan Tao across the room, the golden orbs looking at the crime lord coldly as he thought of all this. In a sense, he seemed to understand what Tan Tao was aiming for. Tempting as the thought of being seen in a more positive light was, he knew somewhere deep inside his own criminal mind that there was still another way that the information could have been taken.
Thinking of this, the leopard then began to laugh. This confounded everybody in the room except for Miles, and all eyes were set on the kung fu warrior as he closed his eyes. Tan Tao simply raised an eyebrow in curiousity, waiting for a break in the laughter of Tai Lung to speak.
"What do you find odd about this proposal?" he asked pointedly. "I frankly find nothing wrong with it."
Tai Lung shook his head, his expression turning serious as he waved Cream's hands off of his shoulders. Complying, the rabbit let go of Tai Lung, Miles instantly by her side to make sure the guards would not take her when their guard was dropped.
"See, I also commited great crimes," said Tai Lung. "And that makes me smart enough to know that your deal is too good to be true."
Gesturing back to the kitsune, the leopard then leered at Tan Tao. "Your greatest mistake was leaving me alone. Because then I wouldn't have met Miles here." With this, Tai Lung nodded to his friend. "And I wouldn't have seen that there's more to life than trying to be the best. There are many other things. Especially friends. Miles pulled through for me where many, many others would not. He saw the good in me, and thus I stand by his side."
A sharp sound of something being drawn rang in the air, and then Miles and Cream both notice that Tai Lung's claws were unsheathed.
"And if it means I have to decline this proposal, then so be it."
Without any further warning, Tai Lung lunged forward, and before anybody knew what had happened three claw marks were visible on Tan Tao's face. They bled profusely as Tai Lung snarled at the crime lord. He got into a fighting stance, expecting Tan Tao to fight back.
However, the tiger simply laughed at Tai Lung. The laugh was slow, diabolical, almost pensive. This laugh confused Tai Lung, and he sheathed his claws as blood dripped from them. Miles and Cream also came close to Tai Lung, hoping that the guards would not come near if they chose to attack.
"What's so funny?" asked Miles, frowning.
Tan Tao looked at the kitsune. "He just made a big, big mistake," replied Tan Tao threateningly.
He looked to all of the guards and gestured to them. Instantly, they rushed away quickly.
"I'll let you go tonight," said the tiger with a sinister edge in his voice. "I hope you enjoy your last night of freedom!"
With this, Tan Tao seemed to vanish, leaping out of the window of the room as the guards followed suit. This of course left Tai Lung, Cream, and Miles all standing bewildered in the center of the room, the candle still burning brilliantly. The three exchanged glances at each other, all of them highly confused glances.
"What the hell was that all about?" asked Miles. "Why didn't he try killing us now?"
Tai Lung shook his head. "I really don't know," he said. "I would just end this here if I was him..."
"...Unless he has something else in store for us..." said Miles. "Let's get out of here, but also stay on guard."
Tai Lung nodded as Cream and Miles both got back onto Tai Lung's shoulders. "Well, let's get to Mei Ling's place, then."
And with this, Tai Lung rushed out of the doorway and ran out into the night, racing back to Mei Ling's home.
Slowly, Tai Xue came out from where she had stayed hidden in the stairwell. She had seen the entire argument. Seeing the two felines side by side seemed to stir some ancient emotion in her that she had not felt in a long time. Looking on, her initial suspicions had been confirmed.
Shaking her head, she moved to the candle in the room. "Poor fool," she said. "I must find this 'Mei Ling' before it is too late..."
With this, she gripped the candle and blew it out, the flame dying and submerging Tan Tao's harem in darkness once more.
Mei Ling, Crane, and Mantis all sat at the table, the mountain lion shifting her fingers around nervously.
"I hope they're okay," said Mantis. "I wouldn't want Cream to stay there forever."
"This is Tai Lung we're talking about here," replied Crane. "Wherever he and Tails are, it won't be too much for him to handle. I'm sure they're headed this way right now."
The three of them continued sitting in silence, waiting for some kind of sign of Tai Lung's return to the small house.
Finally, however, a shoe seemed to step into the house of Mei Ling, and then Miles appeared in the doorway, followed by Tai Lung and then Cream. Mei Ling smiled at this, looking over at the rabbit girl as Crane and Mantis both kept their gazes trained on her.
"Cream!" said Mantis, jumping up and onto the rabbit's shoulder. "You're okay!"
"Crane? Mantis?" she asked suddenly as Crane jumped out of the chair. "What are you doing here?"
"Helping you," replied Crane good-naturedly. "We came here with Tai Lung after he had escaped from the rest of the Five. And, well, here we are."
Cream smiled softly. "Thanks, everybody," she said, noticing the mountain lion. "And... who is that lady?"
Mei Ling smiled as she stood up from the table. "I'm Mei Ling," she said, bowing down to Cream. "I'm a good friend of Crane's. You'll be staying with me, Tai Lung, and Miles for the night. I hope things went okay over there."
"They actually ended a little anticlimactically," replied Miles, his facial expression taking on a hint of nervousness. "Tai Lung literally slashed the crime lord in charge and that was it." He dared not mention how it had all seemed too easy to them to get Cream out of there.
"Wow, that's crazy..." said Mantis. "At any rate, you're safe now, so things should be okay.
The rabbit nodded at this, tugging at her dress slightly. "Crane, Mantis... Where are you guys going to sleep?"
"We have rooms at the Imperial Palace," replied the insect. "On that note, we should probably get back now. The sooner we can get back the better it is for our cover, anyway."
"We'll be back tomorrow, though," replied Crane. "Mostly to see you three out of Beijing and away from China. So we'll be back."
"Okay," said Cream. "I'll see you two tomorrow, then."
"Good night," said Crane as Mantis hopped onto the avian.
And with this, the bird walked out of Mei Ling's house, flying right back to the Imperial Palace as the group's vision lingered on the doorway. After standing still for a few seconds, Mei Ling shrugged.
"Okay," she said. "We should probably get some sleep."
"Can't say no to that," replied Tai Lung, stretching his arms out.
This said, the four of them went deeper into the house, heading for wherever the mountain lion had decided to put them for the night.
Crane and Mantis were woken up abruptly by a knock on their door the next day. Shaking his head awake, the kung fu master woke up in his bedding in the Imperial Palace.
"Yes?" asked the member of the Furious Five as Mantis woke up as well.
"The emperor has dire news for you," he said. "He requests your audience immediately!"
Upon hearing the emperor mentioned, Crane knew that something serious had happened. Darting up from the bed, he and Mantis both rushed for the door, opening it to look on one of the emperor's bull guards.
"Okay," said the insect. "Lead the way!"
"Follow me, then," said the bull, nodding in earnest as he looked at the two kung fu masters.
They followed the guard, Mantis and Crane both looking at each other with looks of apprehension written on their faces. They snapped out of this as they traversed the halls of the Imperial Palace, however, keeping stoic looks on their faces to avoid blowing their cover.
And when they got to the throne room, they saw the emperor sitting in his chair, looking very much displeased.
Next to him stood Wang Dun, his eyes alight in fury as he saw Crane and Mantis enter the room. His orange fur seems to truly stand on end as he glared at the two members of the Furious Five as only one side of his face showed.
"You wanted to--?" asked Mantis.
Before he could complete the sentence, Wang Dun butted in. "You said Tai Lung had been captured!" cried the predatory cat. "You said he was on his way here!"
"Peace, Wang Dun," stated the emperor calmly yet with enough strain in his voice to indicate that something was wrong.
At this, Crane and Mantis played dumb and looked back. "You mean, he's here in Beijing?" he asked.
"Yes!" cried Wang Dun, getting more furious by the second.
"Oh, dear..." said the insect. "I was sure the Dragon Warrior and the rest of the Furious Five had a good hold on Tai Lung when we left them..."
Crane rubbed his beak in thought. "Maybe that kitsune kid freed him, milord," pointed out Crane. "You never know."
"That might be very true indeed," said the emperor. "But this does not excuse the fact that he is still free, and he must be brought to justice."
"If you don't mind my asking, how can you be so sure about that?" asked Crane.
At this, Wang Dun came forward, revealing the other side of his face.
"Tell me where these come from, then!" cried the advisor angrily.
Crane and Mantis both did a double take as they saw a few claw marks on the man's face. The claw marks had scabbed up, but the wound still looked very fresh as it contrasted brilliantly against the tiger's fur and eyes. This left the two warriors a little speechless, quickly trying to come up with a cover story.
"You mean he attacked you?" he asked.
"Yes!" replied Wang Dun. "He game me this mark as a warning! I command you to find him and bring him right here, now!"
"Yes, milord!" cried Mantis and Crane at exactly the same time, ditching their cover story as they both left the room very quickly.
As soon as they did, they gave each other a worried glance.
"Come on, let's go!" said Mantis.
Crane did not even bother taking the stairs; he flew out of the window and into Beijing, looking for Mei Ling's house as quickly as he could.