The Last Hope

35. Dad!

Hello, I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope, you like this chapter.

I'm sorry for my still bad English. If you know a beta reader, who can correct my errors, let me know.

By the way,  if you want to copy the text, you can find the stories also on fanfiction.net and archiveofourown.org.

Po looked around for help. But everyone else was involved in battles with the rest of the ninjas. He sighed. In this case, he had to stand in.
He frowned. "Alright! Now it's time for heroes!"
Po took a running start and rushed toward Ravan, who was standing close behind Dao. The panda got ready for a hard kick with his foot to slam the leader against the wall. But even as he jumped, something wrapped around him and the panda fell to the ground like a stone. "Hey, what the..." Surprised, Po sat up, but he could hardly move. Something had wrapped him. "Hey, that's unfair," he complained. "Not Master Octopus's lassos, which stick together like a bur and are so elastic that you can't get out." In vain, Po tried to break the ropes around his body. But despite everything that he was trapped in an antique, it had not lost its quality. Realizing that he really couldn't get out, Po called: "Hey, could someone help those two," and nodded at the two white peacocks that were slowly taking up their fighting positions.
"Out of the question," Master Ox said from somewhere. "I will never venture near one of the peacocks again. That's finally over now."
Po's mouth stayed open for a moment. "Okay, that's just a joke, right?"
But there was no reaction from his distant interlocutor, who was still fighting. Po struggled to his feet and hopped forward, but he wouldn't make it forward in time. And if anything, how was he going to help, tied up like he was?

Shen watched his brother Dao, and at the same time Ravan in the background, who was already rubbing his paws expectantly. Shen snorted. He would begrudge him a triumph. No matter how slim his chances of winning were. He had actually hoped to easily beat Dao, but to his chagrin, the situation had taken a pathetic turn. His gaze wandered briefly into the hall, but no one was free to confront Ravan at least. Not even the ne'er-do-well panda, who was trying to get along like in a bouncy sack. Shen rolled his eyes. Whenever you needed him...
Ravan called out a Japanese order and Dao responded. Quickly, Shen fended off the approaching katana. Their two mismatched swords clashed with an ominous clash of metal. Again, Ravan gave an order that ordered Dao to attack Shen with the katana from the right. Shen dodged. It was an advantage for him that he could understand Japanese words as well as his native Chinese, so he could react better in time.
This went on for quite a while. Shen guessed that Ravan was just testing his reaction speed. Also at the next instruction, when he heard the Japanese word "right", he swung to the side. But to his horror, Dao attacked him from the left instead of the right. Shen had not been prepared for this and cried out as the katana brushed against his wing. Automatically, Shen pressed his wing to the painful spot. His white feathers immediately turned red. He risked a quick look below his shoulder. His wing was still in one piece, but it hurt.
How could that be?
Shen's pained angry glare wandered to Ravan. "You said..."
Ravan grinned widely. "A little feint never hurts. When he hears this sentence, he always swings to the opposite side. And I have fooled you."
Shen's eyes blazed with anger. Damned! He could not blindly rely on his opponent's orders. Still, capitulation was out of the question for him. After making sure the bleeding wasn't bad, he continued to fight. But he quickly realized that this feint wasn't the only one. He couldn't be sure if he was reading Ravan's commands correctly. It was pure guesswork.
Eventually, Shen resorted to a workaround. He had to throw knives. He still had a few in his plumage. As soon as Dao finished his next sword attack, Shen fired the feather knives at Ravan. But Dao swiveled his katana and deflected the projectiles, which pierced the walls.