The Ticking Contingent: The Countdown vo.2

Rising from the ashes

After dark, a group of miners worked diligently to fill up their final project. It was almost time to head home. A relief! Another day's work behind them! As they started to finish up and put away their carts, they were startled by the sound of a voice they didn't recognize. Upon looking up, they let out a cry of alarm upon seeing a tall snow leopard with glowing yellow eyes.

"Well this is quite the greeting," the snow leopard mocked. "I make all this effort to come out and see you and I get "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"?" He started laughing.

"H-h-how-?!" one of the workers stammered. "You're....aren't you supposed to be dead?!"

"Eh, dead, thrown into the spirit realm, stuck listening to Oogway lecture me about my actions....it's all the same to me," Tai Lung growled, hopping down to the top of one of the scaffolding built into the mountains. "I've gotten much stronger since I've been away. Not even the great Dragon warrior can face up to my new power. And if you want to live to see tomorrow, I highly suggest you do as I say."

The terrified workers, not wanting to see Tai Lung get angry (his reputation was very well known) asked what he wanted out of them.

"To be willing accomplices to your new boss," Tai Ling explained. He gestured behind him where Lord Shen landed on top of the scaffolding. Some of the workers were confused, but a few others who had heard of Shen began to immediately freak out about being expendable bodies.

"Relax," Shen told them. "As long as you cooperate and do as you're told, I'll have no need to dispose of any corpses." The peacock then proceeded to explain that the factory was to be commandeered as a metal work factory instead, and began to give direction on what to do. Afterwards, the Komodo guards arrived, with Shen reminding them that if they stepped out of line, they would be instantly taken care of. The terrified workers did as was told, immediately getting to work and moving their original work out of the way to avoid Shen's wrath. As the work began, Shen and Tai Lung walked across the scaffolding, Shen remarked, "When did you learn shapeshifting?"

Tai Lung laughed and immediately shrunk and shifted until they had regained their original form. "I learned quite a bit about myself while in exile," Chameleon admitted. "My natural ability is to blend into the background. So I thought, "why not blend into the foreground?" It took years of practice. But it paid off."

"If you're so powerful, then why do you need me or the Mongolian?"

"As I said, many hands make the load light. Your cannons will be a formidable defense in my new empire, and in your home city, and Tai lung will get his reward, provided he measures up and learns what he needs."

Shen just made a noise do agreement and walked across the catwalk. He glanced down, the memory of the initial attack fading as the silent factory filled his ears. They were resting for a few hours to make sure they were in prime condition to move the metal. In just a few weeks, so many parts were made. The gunpowder was in plentiful quantity. And the workers eerily obedient. Shen could live with that. He took a long sniff of the powder from the factory and then sighed and walked off and back to the fortress where Chameleon was housing them. Somehow the burning smell wasn't making him feel at home. Maybe the environment wasn't quite right. After all, he had been fully in charge the last time he was in charge of these things, surrounded by loyal guards who heeded him above everything.

Shen paused in his walking to think about what had become of the wolf guards who once followed him. Their leader was dead. Many had died in the blast of the cannons. What about the rest? Perhaps the panda took care of them. Wouldn't be much of a surprise.

Shen sighed and continued to the fortress where he greeted the Komodo guards who let him in with a smile and brief wave before resuming their posts. He wondered where they had come from to follow Chameleon so loyally. She hadn't said. Maybe it was a similar situation as the Mongolians.