THE PAST BECOMES THE PRESENT
The Kung Fu Panda fanfic you are about to read is as full of sad, frightening parts as it is of cool, romantic awesome parts, but it is meant as a story which has my favorite KFP cast member(Tigress)be the central focus, and which is meant to appeal to any and all Taigress fans. High octane action, love and feeling collide in this 5-chapter story I like to call "The Past Becomes The Present".
Note: With the exception of Cu Hun, my anthro buffalo assassin and sorcerer, I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Kung Fu Panda.
This story is rated "T" for frightening moments, almost as many sad moments, blood, intense scenes, language and violence.
Now for the story itself. Or at least the first chapter of it, anyway.
Chapter 1-The Sorcery Gem
It seemed that all loose ends were fully tied up and that the Peace Valley was once more truly at peace. A lot had taken place since Po's victory over Tai Lung. The Furious Five and Shifu had come to respect and like Po, Po had become a national hero and, in a huge surge of irony, the aforementioned Tai Lung had seen the error of his ways and, through a long series of events and deeds(too many to list here)redeemed himself both in truth and in the eyes of the Peace Valley, even the aforementioned Shifu, Furious Five and Po.
Shortly after redeeming himself, Tai Lung was offered a place in the Jade Palace as one of its heroic warriors again by Shifu after the latter negotiated with his students, and he accepted, this time becoming good for good. Mind you, he was still eyed suspiciously by some, especially Tigress, but he dealt with it and he knew it wouldn't be this way forever.
Needless to say, it truly seemed like order was restored and not a problem was left unsolved, and that things would go uphill from now on, with a whole new group of heroes in the Jade Palace and every villager and citizen of China finally feeling safe once more.
But not so. Why was that, you ask? Because a whole new problem was about to spawn from a whole new source, though said source was unknown of by everyone, the Jade Palace residents included. Now, you obviously want to know who or what was said source, so here's what it, or rather, he, was.
Inside of a dark, spooky, dungeon-resembling area in the far off, mountain covered regions of China, there was a diabolical sorcerer who went by the name of Cu Hun. Cu Hun was a buffalo, now, and he was a very smart, powerful, sadistic and cunning one, at that. He was brawny, tall and menacing in appearance, and he had big, long horns that were both of those things even by buffalo standards. His eyes were yellow with black pupils, and he had a thick mane around his neck and shoulders. He had hands and arms for forelegs, of course, but his legs and feet were those of a buffalo. He was an assassin as much as a sorcerer and which one he was depended what he was in the mood to be that day. Either way, he was serious bad news.
But today, he was a sorcerer. And he was, upon his powerful, muscular, burly, dark brown fur covered frame wearing a frightening black sorcerer suit which would make it so you'd be forgiven for thinking he was dressing up to try and be hired as a crypt-keeper. He had a pot in front of him where he was putting many ingredients to make some kind of evil potion in, and said potion was intended to create another thing entirely.
"Okay…" Cu Hun said in a snarl as he put the final required ingredients into the pot, "I almost have it. And when I do, I will make myself a brand new name in the history of sorcery. Why, if nothing else, I'll be given my own chapter in the long history book of evil sorcerers past, present and future. Just as soon as I put in this last drop…"
He put in a final drop of a special liquid and the pot began to boil like a tea kettle which had been left closed for too long and been on maximum heat, to the point of a great many bubbles. But when it simmered down, there was no more liquid, and in the pot was nothing but a gem. But this wasn't just any gem, it was exactly what he had hoped for. You will find out why right now.
"Yes, yes, yes!" he shouted, flashing a diabolical grin and revealing many sharp teeth, which, in contrast to most buffaloes, were the kind of teeth he had. "I have done it! The gem I wanted to make for what I intend to do has been completed! For…" He reached into the pot and took out the gem, clutching it in his fingers as he talked on. "…this gem I have created is capable of causing anyone it touches in any way to take on the abilities and/or weapons of literally anyone and anything in any entertainment media universe, be it video games, movies, comic books, novels, television shows or anything else! And it does so in a way so that said abilities keep changing and occurring in and out, and the victim cannot control them! Eventually, the overloading will cause the victim to lose his or her life, and prior to that, plenty will die and there will be even more destruction! What a perfect way for this sorcerer and assassin to conquer this damn country of China! I will start slow, and end in making sure so many lose their lives this way! And the best part is that I know just where the HELL to start, too!"
Indeed, he had the ideal target in mind. Tigress, of the Furious Five. Yes. You read right. He knew full well about many things of China just like everyone else, including Po, Shifu and the Furious Five, plus he'd heard of Tai Lung's recent redemption. But more to the point, he had Tigress in mind as the first victim of the manipulations of this new gem of his. He thought there could not be a better, more superb candidate to start this off with.
"After all," Cu Hun said, "Tigress is the most respected, well regarded member of the Furious Five, as well as their leader and its most powerful member. She also is the favorite member of nearly every citizen of China there is. She is Shifu's precious daughter. With Tai Lung's recent redemption, what's to say that he might not grow feelings for her, and that's if the panda doesn't! Not to mention how she's like a sister to the snake, breathtakingly hot and beautiful and so, so, so talented and admired! Her eagerness for battle makes it so that she would surely be one of the first to come and try to stop me if I was an assassin tomorrow and threatened the Peace Valley. So it will almost be like she comes right to me and my gem's power of destruction, power overload and life derailment/destruction. Thus, I will make her the first one I use this thing on, and from there, I will keep all of this shit up until at last, China is a downtrodden hellhole and I am its ruler for all eternity!"
It was a long while before the evil laughter that followed his statements faded, but eventually, it did, and now we cut to the Jade Palace, where the Tigress he meant to target the next day actually had a lot on her mind right now, all by herself in her room.
You see, right now, Tigress was feeling highly conflicted. She did not know how she felt, and was struggling with many feelings. One was her long dead parents, who she'd had the misfortune to lose to the spears of various assassins back when she was three. It was a horrible moment in her life which derailed her future, and it hurt all the more that part of what made them die was that they'd given their lives for her own. Right now, she was looking at the only thing she had to remember them by…a picture of them she was lucky enough to have kept with her since the time they died, up till now.
"Mother…father…" Tigress said softly and sadly while looking at the picture. "I wish I could have known you longer…wonder what you'd think of me. That is, if you saw what I've turned into now…or what I was when I was growing up in the Ba Gu Orphanage. To see how well your daughter turned out, or actually, on the contrary, that she at the same time grew up to be such a bitch…in a way, you guys were luckier than me."
Down in the first floor of the palace, the others were aware of why Tigress was not with them right now, but though they'd just let her be as they discussed other matters, it was now starting to worry Shifu.
"Tigress has never spent this much time away from us." he told his students. "I'm devoid of doubt something is upsetting her." "Maybe she still hasn't gotten over the fact Tai Lung's on our side now?" Monkey said humorously. "Very funny." Tai Lung said. "Let's get a little more serious than that, huh?" "I agree with Tai Lung." said Crane, the other top most mature member of the bunch aside from the snow leopard he was concurring with. "We're talking our leader being troubled and shutting herself away here."
"I know Tigress better than anyone here, and I know she would never do this if she didn't have a reason." Viper said. "And a damn understandable one, at that!" "Someone, I think, maybe should go talk to her?" Po asked. "Or at least try to find out what the hell is the problem?" added Mantis. "As a matter of fact," Shifu said, "I was just about to send one of us to do that. You, Tai Lung." "Me?" Tai Lung asked.
"Yes, that's what I said." Shifu responded. "But what if what's making her upset has something to do with me?" Tai Lung asked. "She just finished accepting that I was now a redeemed warrior and part of this palace once more. And I don't think she's one to forget things like our little 'playdate' on the bridge." "Be that as it may," Shifu said, "I have to tell these others something I needed to tell them today, but never got a chance to. And they'll need to know it first and foremost. So go comfort Tigress, if you can, and try to get her back down here so she can know as well, if she's up to it. Either way, I'll tell you the same as I'll now inform them once you're back down."
Tai Lung nodded and walked to the stairs, getting ready for any nasty violence he might be attacked by Tigress with. And Shifu and the others started talking now, but we will get to what Shifu had to tell them, and later, Tai Lung and Tigress, later on. Now we go back to Tigress being in her sad, unhappy, morose mood.
Tigress did not speak or take her eyes off the picture for a long minute. But she still thought of what she'd previously said while holding it. A tear came from her eye and she ignored it as she looked on at the picture. Then she finally talked again. "Yeah, your luck was, in a sense, much better than mine would turn out. After all, if I could bring you back, I would, for I loved you. Just as you loved me…and I missed you both so horribly as I grew up, being called a monster no one wants while an orphan. Even when Shifu adopted me when no one else would, I wished I'd known you longer. But I can do nothing but remember you." Suddenly, Tigress felt more tears brewing. "NO." she a second later said quietly but firmly. "I will not cry. It won't bring them back, and it would make me as much of a disgrace to kung fu as I once thought Po to be. I am forbidden to cry. Is this what my parents taught me all they could for? Is this what they sacrificed their lives for my own for? I am a femme fatale and a warrior, dammit! I protect those in need, not think about my own needs…!" After pausing for a bit and fighting back the tears, she said: "And mother? Father? I also don't know, and truly don't want to even think about, what you'd think of me if you knew I was starting to develop some sort of strange feeling for the last individual that you'd ever expect me to…"
Just then, she heard a knocking on her door. A swift feeling of shock went through her heart, but then she swiftly put the picture of her parents under the pillow. Then, after making sure there was no chance she might cry again, said calmly: "Come in."
And, much to her surprise, it was none other than Tai Lung! "Hello, Tigress." he said as she opened her eyes widely enough so they were almost the size of dinner plates. "Tai Lung?" she asked. "What the hell are you doing at my door?" "Shifu sent me up here for the fact he wanted me to see what was the matter with you. You've been apart from us all day, and he thinks something's eating you." Tai Lung explained.
"What makes him think that?" Tigress asked. "And why did he choose you to talk with me? Sure, you've redeemed yourself and everything, but maybe he would have first chosen someone who I was longer on the side of and closer to, like, say, Viper, Crane or Po?" "Tigress, you wouldn't be using that tone unless you were hurting." Tai Lung said. "I can tell…" "I'M NOT HURTING, DAMMIT!" Tigress blew up at him, but Tai Lung remained in a calm state and said: "You could have fooled me."
Ironically, Tigress was actually doing everything she could to hide what she'd been doing, AND to hide the fact that the one she was developing the aforementioned strange feelings for was, in fact, directly in front of her! Yes, ever since Tai Lung had redeemed his wrongs and joined the Jade Palace, Tigress had started seeing a different side to him, and part of her thought she liked it. More than liked it. NO! She would not think about that! And especially not to his spotty, gray fur-covered face!
"Seriously, Tai Lung, I assure you nothing is wrong!" insisted Tigress. "Honest to God truth! I'm as fine as anyone could be! Truly! Honestly!" Tai Lung walked on into her room, a second later sitting down next to her, and said: "Your tone says otherwise. Come on. Let's just talk. It's the only way you'll feel in any way better." Tai Lung realized, as he looked at her, that he was having some funny feelings about Tigress, now that they were comrades instead of adversaries. He didn't know it yet, but they were very similar to what Tigress had been feeling about him, and such a fact would be found out by both in the moments to come, albeit without any conclusions being jumped to or it being anything aside from simply interesting. AT BEST.
What this leads to, and what happens when Cu Hun makes his move, will be seen in the second of the five chapters! The plot thickens so immensely! Hope you liked this chapter and there will be more to come very soon! You can be sure of that!