Issue: 720
Cover: Tiger Wong and Maggie
Published:

Summary Added: August 13, 2001

The issue opens with The Supreme and Maggie conversing just out of earshot of Ancestor. Both of them are in tears over recent events. It's obvious that Ancestor has deep feelings towards Maggie and The Supreme can do nothing about it. No she has to lay the biggest bombshell of all on The Supreme. Maggie has agreed to marry Ancestor. This may seem strange but with Ancestor's frightning power it must be difficult to say no. Still he can't contain his excitement that Ancestor can help raise his Kung Fu to all new levels. This is not the kind of emotional support that Maggie was looking for and her expression turns ice-cold.

Ancestor is off meditating on a circular stone pedistal. He's concentrating deeply, trying to unearth an old memory but the strain causes him to hold his head in pain. Opening his eyes he cries out 'I remember, I remember!'. His mind drifts back to memories of a beautiful woman he knew a very long time ago. Apparently when this woman first me Ancestor she wanted to kill him but after a while grew to love him. The woman from his past is gone and know he intends to replace her with Maggie. Oblivious to Ancestor's musings, The Supreme runs up shouting that he has good news. Ancestor lets him know that he can speak when he's asked to speak and not before. He then tells The Supreme that he intends to make love to Maggie immediately. To add insult to injury Ancestor pulls off his coat and throws it at The Supreme to hold. As Ancestor walks off The Supreme begins to imagine him embracing Maggie and can no longer take it. Gritting his teeth he marches towards Ancestor. He again repeats that he has something to say but Ancestor just turns and tells him to buzz off. The Supreme is persistent and tries to persuade Ancestor to stop by insisting that Maggie is just a child and her emotional spirit is weak. He tells Ancestor that Maggie is tired and hungry and that she in fact is frightened of Ancestor. If he truly wants Maggie to love him Ancestor will need to give her more time. Ancestor snatches his coat back and calls The Supreme some nasty names. He's not happy but he is convinced to take it slowely, to try and cultivate good feelings before he rushes into anything. The Supreme is trying to give the impression that he's helping Ancestor in his quest to win Maggie's heart but of course the truth is that he just doesn't want to lose Maggie himself. Maggie watches from a dark cave with a frightened expression.

Elsewhere, The Oriental Heroes and Red Sect are searching for Ancestor in a helicopter. They land at a small village and begin questioning people. Tiger Wong and Gold Dragon end up travelling by horseback in one direction while Barbarian and Guy search the village. Barbarian doesn't find Ancestor but instead comes across Chan Ou Wan in one of the buildings. Seeing the evil Chan, Barbrian immediatly attacks punching him backwards. Barbarian continues the attack, pounding Chan to the ground. Seeing the fight going on, Guy joins in slamming Chan further backwards. Barbarian attacks again but finds it very difficult to lay a hand on Chan. They fighters break for a moment but when Chan tries to escape our heroes resume the attack. Guy latches onto Chan's leg after taking a kick and gives Barbarian an open opportunity. Not only does he miss badly with a punch but Chan grabs his ankle and uses a claw on the back of his knee. Barbarian twists loose but ends up getting a claw to the shoulder. While Chan is occupied Guy leaps into the air to deliver a punishing blow. Barbarian flips Chan off with a kick and then Guy smashes him with a double palm strike. When Chan struck at Barbarian's chest he used some poison and now Barbarian is starting to feel the effects. Guy is able to get in several blows before Chan starts battling back. Chan lashes out with a claw to the back and then exhales a cloud of poison right into Guy's face.

Issue: 721
Cover:
Published:

While Barbarian and Guy battle on against Chan Ou Wan, Tiger Wong and Gold Dragon continue to search for Ancestor. The pair are riding by horseback out in some desert. To protect himself from the beating sun Gold Dragon has tied a big leaf to his head. You might imagine that this looks kind of stupid and you would in fact be correct. Pointing towards something Tiger shouts 'Gold Dragon, do you see'. A plume of smoke is rising from the top of a small mountain a short distance away. Tiger's mind flashes back to the image of Ancestor burning the Golden Buddha and they rush off to investigate. They come across three monks armed with staffs. The monks are startled and order our two heroes to leave but Tiger starts to wonder if these monks might be something other than what they appear. One of the monks shouts out 'It's him, the boy with the gold hair and scar!'. Turning towards his friend, Tiger asks 'They recognize you?'. Gold Dragon just shrugs his shoulders and assumes that perhaps they know of him by reputation. Suddenly one of the monks rushes forward and shoves his staff through the neck of the horse that Tiger Wong was riding. Tiger is far too swift to be caught by this jerk. He jumps from his horse and blocks a flurry of strikes before kicking his opponent solidly in the ribs. For a moment Gold Dragon tries to reason with the monks but when that fails he does the next best thing and boots one in the face. Again he questions the monks as to why they are attacking to which one reply's 'filthy boy, you ruined our master's honor!'. Now the only thing I can think of is that they're referring to when Cloudy Crane followed along in the attack on Ancestor. Why they would consider this damaging to Crane's honor and why they blame Gold Dragon remains a mystery.

The monks seem to energize or electrify their staffs and attack once again. Gold Dragon activates his Golden Armor and casually catches one fighters staff with his palm while blocking another with his foot. In a move that catches Gold Dragon off guard, one of the monks touches him with his staff sending out a jolt of energy that shocks Dragon. This momentary distraction gives another monk the opportunity to unleash a furious assault before Gold Dragon can kick him away. Dragon pushes forward and headbutts the other fighter in the stomach then lifting his head he slams the guy in the jaw and finishes him with a double punch to the kidneys'. The monk that Gold Dragon kicked tries to get to his feet but flops face first onto the hard ground. Meanwhile, Tiger Wong is kicking the hell out of another fighter. The fighter lunges towards Tiger Wong but ends up getting chopped in the back of the neck sending him face first to the ground. The last standing thug rushes towards Tiger Wong but ends up eating a foot.

Upon closer inspection of the smoke they find a single monk standing before a burning platform of wood similar to the one Ancestor built. On top of the pyre sits a hairless man who although burning seems very calm. Gold Dragon attacks the monk while Tiger Wong goes for the fire. Gold Dragon finds the head monk more formidable than anticipated. Two other monks jump from trap doors in the ground to block Tiger Wong. Tiger makes short work of the monks while Gold Dragon takes care of the head monk. Tiger kicks the pyre down and extinguishes the man's flames with his jacket. Two of the monks rush to aid the man who other than being frightningly gaunt and burnt red seems fairly ok. Gold Dragon, becoming enraged at what he's seeing, grabs up the burning logs and slams them to the ground.

Let's return to the fight between Chan and the team of Barbarian and Guy. Chan is laughing but stops when he sees that Barbarian has recovered from his poison. The two lunge towards each other but neither strike effectively. When Barbarian tries a long distance attack Chan scoots out of the way and comes up behind Barbarian with a shoulder separator. Barbarian kicks out and delivers an upper cut that knocks Chan to the ground.