READ THIS FIRST PLEASE!!
Kung Fu Panda rocks, so as a fellow kung fu master (not really a master yet, but whatever) I must contribute to its awesomeness.
Basically, after not being picked to be the Dragon Warrior, and Po bringing peace to the Valley and stuff, Tigress goes for a walk to lick her wounds, but is attacked by thousands of highly trained warriors, now she would normally defeat them, but after Tai Lung's Nerve Attack…
Also astrixes () will show things I want to explain at the end of the chapter.
I don't own Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks does. Now, if I did own it, there would be a lot more stuff on Tigress' past, cuz she is sooo kawaii as an 'ikkle cub! (girlish squeals)
Later on in the chapter it may turn into a Redwall crossover, so… I don't own them either.
Okay, sooooo on with
the story!
Also, if anyone has ideas or suggestions, feel free to
post them.
Tell me if I should keep going.
Ambushed
The sunlight through the bamboo shoots created dapples on her rich orange, black and white fur as the Master of Tiger Kung Fu sat meditating in the semi shade. Or trying to at least. Po, the so-called Dragon Warrior, was amusing everyone with his stupidity and ineptness at kung fu, at least when no food was involved. The roars of laughter from the other members of the Furious Five, and even Master Shifu, continually shook her from internal peace.
Finally, after much growling and teeth grinding, she heaved a sigh and pulled herself up. No one seemed to notice or care as she flicked her tail angrily and exited the grove. They probably wouldn't notice for quite some time, so it didn't really matter if she left. She sighed again, and gazed at her feet and the well-worn trail ahead of her. Kind of like her life; she did the same thing over and over again until it was nothing more than a trail, it's many paths forever out of sight, just the one ahead of her, always leading to the same routine, the same place.
A slight twinge in her side told her that maybe she should slow down, although it was something new. Tai Lung's Nerve Attack. Ouch… It had happened so quickly that even she was left slack-jawed. Yes, she had stood defiantly in his face, and even went the extra mile and purposely disobeyed her master, the man who had taken care of her since she was a defenseless cub. Biting the hand that feeds, was probably the closest term to what she'd done.
Whoa, I went further than I thought. thought Tigress, looking around. Sure enough, in her livid, thoughtful state, she had wandered far, far into the dense undergrowth, to a part even she didn't recognize, and she'd been exploring the surrounding jungles all her life.
She was about to turn around and hopefully retrace her steps, often when she thought she unknowingly scratched things around her, so a claw mark on a tree might lead her back, when a harsh growl froze her solid in her tracks.
Her keen eyes found several shadowy figures crouched in the bushes, and the wind brought scent of many, many more all around her. Her ears flicked like radars and heard deep breathing in the bushes. Her feet alerted her to the rumbling of the equivalent of an army approaching. Every sense told her that she was outnumbered, except for taste. No wait… yes, the taste of her own fear and the blood in her mouth from biting her own lip. Great, perhaps the biggest mistake she'd ever made, and not only that, but it was an amateur mistake too! It was a good thing Master Shifu wasn't there or he'd tan her hide, and make a rug or coat or wall decoration out of her.
But Master Tigress of the Furious Five never backed down, and never would admit that she had doubts about the fight ahead. Her fur bristled and her lips curled back to reveal her canines (A/N: Hey, quick question. Since she's a cat, does she have canines? Or would they be felines? Haha. Okay, sorry, on with the story), deadlier than knives, no matter how rarely they were used. In an attempt to look fierce she struck her fighting stance, before opting for a feral crouch, with even more feral growls coming from her throat, hoping to scare her enemies into submission.
They obviously didn't care how menacing she looked because they leapt at her, and the fight was on.
The rest was a blurred dance, around and around she went, wanting to stop, but forced to keep going, she roared a blood-curdling war cry when her punches and attacks hit their marks, and gasped when her opponents' hit their's.
All around her were unfamiliar faces, weapons flying towards her, and she was forced to go against her honorable code and better judgment, and allowed her claws to jump out of her furry fingertips. Fighting fang and claw, she didn't see the huge club coming towards the back of her head, and when she did turn around, all she could do was open her mouth and widen her eyes. She probably should have clenched her teeth and mentally scolded herself as darkness filled her sight.
BACK WITH THE OTHERS
"Watch this, Ti- Hey, where's Tigress?" Po had been about to attempt a Tiger Roll, an important Tiger Style move, turning around, grinning like a maniac, his smile faded when he realized she wasn't there. At Po's words, they stopped their merriment and turned to where Tigress was last seen. Sure enough, the female tiger was gone. Shifu instantly panicked, realizing that in his temporary reckless abandon, his greatest student had just up and disappeared.
"Tigress! TIGRESS! TIIIIIIGRESSSSSSSS!" His eyes were as large as dinner plates and he was hyperventilating. "Something must have happened to her! I knew I shouldn't have played with you. I should have been keeping an eye out for danger! Now she's gone! My favorite student!" He paused and glanced at his other students "The rest of you didn't hear that."
Truth be told, Tigress had always frightened him. The fact that she was so much like Tai Lung always made him believe that when she wasn't given the title of Dragon Warrior, she would go crazy and rampage on the Valley, just as her parents' murderer had done twenty years prior. Shifu ran down the similarities in his head.
1. Both felines
2. Both talented
3. Both fiery tempered
4. Both brought to him as cubs
5. Both denied the name Dragon Warrior
6. Both were able to knock the punching bag across the room as cubs
7. Both determined
8. Both passionate about Kung Fu
9. Both very serious
All these reasons seemed to scream following in his footsteps, but there was something unlike Tai Lung in Tigress. A kindness that said if her home and family hadn't been destroyed, she would have been a sweet little tiger amongst other tigers, without a care in the world, and never would have even considered learning kung fu. Tigers had begun to drift away from the martial arts. He would never admit it, but he missed the days of the armored tiger armies serving as guards and warriors.
That idea terrified him to no end. Now that Tai Lung was defeated and it was unlikely that she would get a challenging enemy any time soon, had she turned her back on Kung Fu? No, Tigress was too ardent for that, but… with her passion, her goal in life, stolen from her, could he really say what she would do?
It was okay… she probably just went to stretch her legs. Yeah… she hadn't moved since they'd gotten there, and she went to go wake her legs up with a long walk. So far away that her keen senses couldn't pick up his distressed calls. He sighed and ran his paws over his face to calm his racing heart. Tigress was a fickle creature, and he could never tell what she would do next, a reason that she was such a wonderful fighter.
With that in mind, he turned away from the Jade Palace, to one of the trails that Tigress sometimes wandered to satisfy her adventurous spirit. The remaining Five members, and Po, hurried to follow, as they wouldn't cover ground as quickly, but something in their hearts told them that Master Shifu was probably following his instincts to their grimalkin friend.
So alongside their master, they skedaddled (A/N: Don't you just love that word?) through the brambles that still covered the trail as it was not used often, in search of their friend who had suddenly just up and disappeared.
BACK WITH OUR (MY) FAVORITE CHARACTER
'Oh, my aching head… and those laughs aren't exactly helping my headache. Calm down- hm… that's odd. I know I have a name. So what is it?' Mysterious bleary figures were all around her, and panic gripped her heart. Where was she? Where were they taking her? Why was she hog-tied and dangling from a long pole?
"Oi! Boss, th'prisoner's 'wake." The fuzzy creature that had spoken focused to reveal he was an alligator, and he turned towards her and grinned a cruel sneer, one that shivers running up her spine. His name was Rippjaw, and he now spoke to her with a sinister tone. "'Ello, there, Sleepin' Beauty. You been sleepin' fer a long time, thought yuh'd nev'r wake up, ho no." Her eyes watered from the stench of his breath, but she stared into his eyes, unwilling to allow him the pleasure of seeing her frightened.
She tried to answer, feeling like they were waiting for one, but suddenly she realized that she couldn't open her mouth, could only make little grunting snorts and whimpers, which seemed to be hilarious for her tormentors. They pulled the pole from between her paws and she fell with a thump to the ground. Were they releasing her? A thin sliver of hope crawled out of the pessimism that had overtaken her heart. "On y'feet!" Those three syllables shattered those aspirations and she slipped deeper into despair. With this, a painful prod at the base of her tail, and a swift kick to the rib cage, then again to her stomach knocked the wind out of her, making her attackers laugh even harder as she gasped like a fish out of water, before being pulled to her four feet.
Her feet were shackled together, and all she could do when the leader of the group sneered into her face, then pushed her forward, was take small, stumbling steps.
Without warning, a huge weight fell on her back. She gasped when her legs nearly buckled under the abrupt burden. The leader, a cruel and ruthless ferret with six claws upon his left paw who went by the name of Swartt Sixclaw, was sitting on her, to the cackles of his followers.
His heels dug cruelly into her sides as he called aloud to the vermin around him, "I, Swartt Sixclaw, have, in combat, defeated the one and only Ti-" he was cut off suddenly when muffled screech rent the air.
"What was that? I was about to finish my speech! It was a very good speech and everything. Rottooth! Find out what that was, and kill it if you have to." She had to admit, this Sixclaw could certainly give orders.
Rottooth, a Golden Lion Tamarin, leapt forward to investigate. "It's a kestrel! Gotten hisself froze to a tree! Can we eat 'im, Boss?" The vermin began to shout agreement, and fought amongst themselves as Swartt tried to make himself heard amid the ruckus. While this was going on, a certain captive was slowly making her way towards the hawk that had somehow managed to get it's self frozen solid to the tree.
The kestrel gazed at her fearfully with golden eyes, almost certain he was going to be eaten, when he saw the harsh battle wounds, and merciless leather that bit into the sensitive flesh. This terrifying creature was as trapped as he was.
Her eyes seemed to say, 'stay still and quiet, I'll get you out of there'. The striped cat rose and pushed her soft furry belly against him, until he could feel the blood beginning to rush back to his ice-bound limbs. Soon his wings tingled, and he flapped them nervously, wondering whether or not they would notice him. They didn't. He glanced over at his rescuer, who was holding out her paws toward him, a hopeful gleam in her eye. After a moment's puzzled pause he understood, and undid the tightly wound tethers. As soon as the ropes fell away, she glance around in the bushes, before taking hold of a nearby branch, and snapping it clear off. Finally, the lowlifes noticed and collectively raced forward, drawing their weapons.
His liberator didn't even flinch, but heaved the great tree branch around in one paw, and mowed down the front line, then the second, and third. Swartt jumped forward, but the Dimorphanthus limb crashed upon his six clawed paw. With a yowl of pain, he jumped backwards, hidden behind his subordinates. Ultimately, the cowards scattered and retreated, unable to hold their ground against the striped warrior.
Her voice boomed as though from within a cave, "Sixclaw, from here on out, you are my sworn adversary, and by my stripes, you shall die by my hand. Prepare yourself!" She was about to finish her job, when suddenly the kestrel was in front of her, screeching and buffeting her face with his wings until she turned away.
His voice sounded in her ears. "Kreeeeh! Run, run away, there are reinforcements over the hill and they have many, many archers. Run! Run! Kreeehah!"
Arrows? No way she could defend against those. She turned and plunged deep into the bushes, grimacing at the loss of her prey. The hawk had warned her of the enemies, and she was thankful, but she really would have preferred to duke it out with her foe.
Her ground eating strides carried her quickly away from her quarry, until their agonized howls were nothing but gentle whispers in the wind.
She slowed to a halt, then turned to the bird on her shoulder, "I thank you, kestrel, you have saved my life and set me free from Sixclaw's menace. How may I repay you?"
"Repay me? You already did. I would have died on that tree. I thank you. By the way, my name is Skarlath." He dipped into an elegant bow, spreading his great wings.
"Ah, Skarlath, you saved me on two occasions, while I saved you but once. I am in debt to you. My name is… well, for some odd reason, I can't quite recall it." she gave a helpless shrug, uncertain if he'd think her silly.
"A touch of amnesia, eh? Well, until something jogs your memory, I'll give you a name that suits you. Well… how about Stripes?" She grimaced at the cliché name. "You're right, too overused. Hmm. Well, your eyes resemble the sun, and you move like a flash of lightning so… Sun…Lightning? No, no… Sun…fl…ash… Sunflash!"
"Sunflash… Sunflash… Sunflash." Sunflash liked the way the name rolled off her tongue and smiled a toothy grin. "I like it. Now, comrade, if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to." She picked up the branch, whirled it about in one paw, and turned towards the broken bracken where she had crashed through. Once again however, Skarlath got in her way.
"No! Stay, friend. You are wounded, allow yourself to rest, then chase them. Let them think you are following them closely, panic them a little." He sighed, knowing full well that a fierce warrior would never be able to stand by and watch a villain walk away alive after being so close to death. "Tell you what, I'll keep an eye on them. I'll report where they are and where they're going, and you and I can take them out silently, one by one. Make sure they know they're up against a trained, angered warlord." Warlord, eh? Sunflash sighed, defeated.
"Fine, you win. When do we start?"
"As soon as I deem you battle-ready." She growled at him to show she was on to his tricks. "Fine, fine, no need to ruffle your fur the wrong way, tomorrow sundown we'll make our first strike, but take it easy at first. Let's unnerve them slowly, I do like watching beasts become unhinged."
The two friends grinned at each other, now united with a common goal, to hunt Swartt Sixclaw and his tribe of ruffians. Skarlath caught a few fish, which they devoured quickly in amiable silence.
She watched the stars quietly, while Skarlath peeled the last few strips of meat of the fishes' bones. Sunflash suddenly sat up and grinned at her new hawk ally who sat by the fire.
He noticed this, and looked up warily. "What are you doing?"
"Do you like magic, Skarlath? I'm magic, y'know."
"No you aren't. Prove it." Those were the words the female tiger had been hoping for.
"All right, I will. I'm going to hit a star with a rock." Without waiting for a reply, she picked up a good-sized pebble and tossed it up, then swung her angelic tree branch around and sent it hurtling into the air. She spun around and commanded, "Now, stare into the fire for ten seconds, don't look at anything else." The bird of prey was obviously interested where his feline ally was going with this, because he complied obediently.
"Now, look up at the star I aimed at." He did and gasped.
"The-the s-star! It… it exploded!" She laughed and sat down.
"Indeed it did, mate. Still think I'm not magic?"
He simply stuttered, flabbergasted at the thought that his companion could really be magic. When he finally found his voice, Sunflash had already curled up by the fire, breathing gently.
With a grin, he settled down as well, shaking his head as he tried to figure out how Sunflash could have hit the star so hard it exploded. Tigers, he decided, were queer things.
That night, the tiger's dreams were of pandas, red pandas, vipers, mantises, cranes, monkeys, and six-clawed ferrets.
Likewise, the hawk's dreams were also of the six-clawed ferret, but also of magic tigers, and exploding stars.
BACK WITH THE OTHERS…
"Master Shifu…" said Crane cautiously. "We've already searched here many times. The rain has washed away all scents and prints."
His words, no matter how innocent they seemed to be, stabbed the red panda's heart. The rain had seemed as thought the gods were laughing at him, as if they were saying, "Try to pull this one off!" He sighed and looked at his weary students.
Worry and strenuous hiking and searching had exhausted all of them. "All right. We will continue the search in the morning. Sleep well students."
A collective cry filled the air from the happy fighters, before they turned and walked up the path towards the Jade Palace. Now with the promise of food, baths, and sleep, the searchers were much more pleasant to be around, but their hearts were heavy. How could they not be? Viper's confidante and gal pal, Crane's equal in battle, Monkey's snacking partner, Mantis' all around friend and defender (from non-believers), Shifu's greatest student, and Po's biggest aspiration (to be just like her), all these things, all these roles Tigress played, were gone. Snatched from right under their noses.
One unasked question haunted them all: Where was she?
AND NOW, JUST CUZ, A LOOK OVER AT SWARTT
Swartt glared down at his left paw. No feeling was in it at all. His vixen seer and healer Nightshade had given him herbs, but they did nothing. It was as though his paw was… dead.
Oh yes, he would kill that tiger, but he would need many more followers to do so. She had mowed them down with a tree branch, when they had slings, javelins, knives, bows and arrows, swords, rapiers, and many daggers.
He pulled a metal brace over his useless paw, determined that none of the others would find out that it was permanently lame. Experimentally, he swung it down powerfully upon the small table, which instantly buckled beneath the blow. He grinned cruelly and evilly at the splintered remains.
The hunt was on.
END CHAPTER
Well, what do you think? I think it turned out pretty good. Reviews, questions, comments, criticism, ideas or suggestions, will all be read, replied to and appreciated!!
Oh right, the explanations.
-Right, whenever my cats get mad or annoyed, they lash their tails around to warn you, like rattlesnakes.
- When I do kung fu, it always seems like a violent dance, especially when my master does it.
-If one clenches their teeth right before a blow to the head, one can withstand a baseball bat to the head, that's why fighters clench their teeth in fights.
-Grimalkin is an archaic word for cat or feline. Cool, huh?
-Dimorphanthus are trees that are native to China, also commonly called Chinese angelic trees.
-If you stare at fire for a short while, then look at a star, it looks like it exploded. I haven't tried it, just read it somewhere.
-In traditional kung fu, the Tiger and the Crane were never able to beat each other, and together formed Dragon, who couldn't beat Tiger, but could beat Crane.
-I couldn't think of anything for Tigress to be to Mantis, so I decided that if any was to question his strength behind his back, she'd stick up for him.