Disclaimers: Wanted to get this over with first. I do not own any of the Kung Fu Panda characters and bla bla bla.

This is my first fanfiction ever!!! Hooray! I was reading the other fanfics on this site and I thought that this would be really fun so I decided to try writing a fanfic and now I'm addicted. Tai Lung is my favorite character of all time so I wrote this! Please R&R and give criticism on what I could do better, what I did good, etc.

Dex: And with that...it begins.

Tai Lung regained consciousness in a pool of his own blood and groaned in agony. The pain was excruciating. Several gashes on his arms and chest stained his fur a dark crimson red. He also had a number of broken ribs and various other injuries from his fight with Po. His face contorted in pain as he struggled to stand up.

Looking around, he realized he was on the outskirts of the Valley of Peace. He heard cheering, music, and laughter off in the distance. The enticing aromas of baked goods, various dishes and delicious desserts filled the air. The inhabitants of the valley thought he was dead.

This is good he thought. No one will be in their homes. They will all be celebrating in the town plaza for a good several hours.

He staggered over to the nearest house and was about to open the flimsy wooden door when he realized that people might get suspicious if their furniture and floors suddenly turned red. But how could he clean his wounds if he could not get to water? He was not about to lick himself.

"Damn this is a pain."

After thinking for a moment, he tore off the lower parts of his dark indigo sweatpants seeing how they were already in tatters anyway. These were then torn into four pieces of fabric. He wound one around each wrist and around each ankle to soak up the blood dripping from his arms and legs. Just because I'm muscular doesn't mean that I don't have any lights on upstairs…contrary to popular belief. He made his way to the house's bathroom. The snow leopard filled the large tub he found there with warm water and undressed. He eased himself into the tub and began to gingerly clean his wounds and eventually fell deep into his thoughts.

What am I going to do? I'd rather die than go back to prison… I suppose the only thing to do now is go back and beg for forgiveness. Damn it! I keep hoping there's a less obvious solution! The only emotion I've felt for years is anger! How the hell am I supposed to apologize?! Everything I ever believed was a lie!

The angry snow leopard left the house walked towards the Jade Palace, ignoring the pain that was stabbed at him with every step.

As he got closer and closer to the plaza, he became more and more cautious, moving only through the shadows. When he finally reached the base of the gargantuan staircase, Tai Lung realized that there was a good chance that he would get spotted if he simply charged up the steps and if no one else saw him, the one of the five masters surely would. I need a distraction if I'm going to get up to the Jade Palace.

Glancing upwards he saw a lantern dangling gently in the breeze on the opposite side of the plaza. Perfect, Tai Lung thought, alright…here we go. Timing is everything. He began counting down the seconds.

Five. Grabbing a knife from a nearby stand, he flipped backwards onto an adjacent rooftop hidden in the shadows pushing off of it with one paw while using the other to launch the knife towards the lantern.

Four. The lantern fell and burst into flames allowing him to begin his sprint up the first flight of stairs.

Three. Three quarters of the way.

Two. Top of the steps.

One. The fire was put out and everyone returned to their festivities but a certain quick-footed snow leopard was well on his way to the Hall of Heroes in the Jade Palace.

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Something's wrong…Tigress could feel it as she turned around to gaze up at the gargantuan staircase that led to the Jade Palace. Dismissing the thought, she decided to go back up to the Jade Palace and get some rest for training the next day. No doubt Master Shifu would have them resume training immediately.

"Where are you going Tigress?" Crane asked loudly so as to be heard over the music, the cheers, and the bragging Dragon Warrior.

"To rest," the tiger master replied shortly, already ascending the steps.

"We'll go with you," Crane said as he flew up the staircase with the other three masters close behind. "I think we've all heard enough bragging from Po tonight."

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Tai Lung looked at the reflection in the Sacred Water in the Hall of Heroes. In it, he saw the dragon scroll; the scroll that had cost him everything. He saw his own battered body and his tattered pants and he began to laugh (not an evil laugh, just one of those average, day-to-day, happy laughs). It hurt to laugh but at the same time it felt so damn good!

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. His laughter ended in violent coughing. A thin red mist seemed to cloud his vision. The snow leopard clutched at his stomach and groaned. The effects of the Wuxi Finger Hold seem to finally be catching up to me. Grr…I was hoping I could apologize first. Ah well, at least I'll be able to die…in…m-my h…home. He fell to his knees and was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Dex: This is NOT a one-shot. If it was, I'd be really sad. Anyway, I hope I wrote decently enough. The OC will be introduced in the next chapter. If you like the story, I'll try to get in the next chapter soon (depending on the amount of work I have to do for college applications) because I know how much I hate waiting... Anyways I hope you enjoy the story. And btdubs* I love the stories about Tai Lung/Kung Fu Panda here.

btdubs=bytheway
I just have a fun way of saying it.