A/N: Welcome to an all new epic AU story! Different characters are in very different situations which should make for an interesting story! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: When the Gong Sounds
The snow lay deep and undisturbed beneath the silver light of a dawning sky. Overhead, a raven surveyed a silent landscape as its black wings feathered the cold, thin air. The bird's rasping call was the only sound to be heard for miles, breaking the frozen solitude in irregular staccato. All around, the land of China lay asleep in the depths of winter.
In the country, smoke drifted from peasant huts into the windless sky from rough-hewn chimneys, sent aloft from hearth fires tended through the night. The village, clustered close about the mighty walls of Nanjing Fortress, slept in pristine splendor, a princess safe in the arms of her protector.
All through the land, nothing stirred, save the raven wheeling slowly overhead.
Tigress lay shivering in her cell, a huddled ball topped by a thin woolen blanket that she clasped tightly around her body in a resolute effort to keep out the night chill. She had been awake, and cold, long before the sullen sky showed its drab gray through the lone slit of a window, high up in her cell. Now the gloom had receded sufficiently to make out the dim outlines of the simple objects that furnished her bare apartment.
Next to the straw pallet where she slept stood a sturdy oaken stool, made by the hand of a local villager. A table of the same craft stood against the wall opposite her bed, containing her few personal articles: a clay bowl for her supper, a candle in a wooden holder, a small mat for her meditation, and a parchment scroll on which was written all the rules and observances of her student's office, which, after almost ten years, Tigress was still striving to keep.
From somewhere in the inner recesses of the Jade Palace, the resounding ring of the gong sounded. Tigress gave a short growl, the jumped up in bed, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. Today was the day, she remembered. The day of great change. She wondered what it would be, for as closely as she had followed the portents she could not guess it.
All the signs in her meditations had pointed to a change: the ring around the moon for three nights before the snow, the storm itself coming on her birthday, a spider she'd seen busily constructing a web across her door.
There was no doubt – a change was forecast. At least that was what her Master, the monk Kung Fu Master Shifu had said.
Its exact nature remained a mystery, but such was often the pleasure of whatever gods ruled the universe to leave part of a prophecy hidden. She had at last deduced the date of the change by a dream in which she had climbed a high mountain and then leaped from its pinnacle and sailed out into space, not falling but flying. Flying dreams were always lucky. Her lucky day was always a holy day, and this day, the feast of Losar, was the first holy day to have fallen since her dream.
Today, without question, was the eventful day. Perhaps she would finally be recognized as a Master herself. Her resolve renewed, Tigress sprang up to get dressed into her usual training uniform and dashed out of the cubicle, and into the corridor beyond.
Tigress was halfway down the high-arched passageway when another gong sounded. A deep, resonant peal rang out in three short intervals. A brief pause. And then three again. That was the signal for…Alarm!
She stopped, confused. As she turned to run toward the sound of the gong, she collided blindly with the round, fully padded form of an elderly red panda, and fell to the ground.
"Oof! Take care where you are going, young Tigress," said the red panda good-naturedly.
"Master Shifu! I'm so sorry! I heard the alarm! Shouldn't we be hurrying?" Tigress wondered.
"No need for panic," the master added with a small smile, "Besides that was the summons gong, not the alarm gong." Tigress suddenly felt very foolish. She felt her face coloring. Her eyes sought the stone floor at her feet. The kindly Master placed a heavy arm on Tigress' young shoulders. "Come, we will see what drags us from our warm slumbers so early on this chilly morning."
The two moved off down the corridor together and shortly came to the vast entrance hall of the Palace. A cold stinging wind was rushing through the huge open doors at the entrance. One of the palace guards, a lynx in a scarlet uniform, was already pulling the giant doors closed. Three other students of the Palace stood around a large, shapeless bundle lying at their feet on the floor. Whatever it was, the dark bundle, uncertain in the dim morning light, had been recently dragged in from the outdoors – a trail of snow attested to the fact, as did the snow encrusted bundle itself.
Closer, Tigress saw the bundle was that of a black and white panda wrapped heavily against the cold. The students were now bending over the inert shape, which to all appearances seemed dead. Master Shifu placed a warning hand on Tigress' arm and stepped slowly forward.
"What is this, my students? A wayward pilgrim wandering into the Palace?"
"This is no pilgrim by the look of him," said the guard, rubbing his paws to restore the warmth. "More likely a beggar for our feast day handouts."
"Then he shall have them," replied Shifu.
"I don't think any food would help him at this point," observed Viper, another student of the palace, whom Tigress had become friends with. "Or he might be beyond any help soon, I fear."
Two other students, Monkey and Crane, stepped forward to turn the panda over and gently prodded his shoulder. They did this carefully, almost out of fear of having to touch a potentially dead body. Shifu watched the timid struggle with some impatience, before finally exploding, "Get out of the way! Unlike some of you I don't fear of doing what must be done!" He stooped over the body and rolled it into his arms.
Tigress, moving around the perimeter for a better look, gasped at the sight. The panda's face was ashen white, and his lips, pressed together in a thin line, were blue. He appeared completely frozen. But even as Tigress looked on fearfully, the panda's eyelids flickered. Shifu, noticing the remnant of life, ordered young Master Mantis away.
"Hurry! Bring me the vial of Hua Oil and some tea." And to the rest he directed. "Here, now! Help me loosen his robes. We may pull him back from the void yet!"
The students, including Tigress, moved forward to carefully unwrap the layers of clothing. Their astonishment showed visibly in their faces when they had finished, and in the face of Mantis who had just returned with the medicinal oil and tea.
There on the floor before them lay a Kung Fu Master in crude battle dress. His torso carried a robe with the Emperor's seal on its chest. His forearms and shins were sheathed with bracers and leather guards.
Shifu, still holding the Master's head, pulled back the hood covering the warrior's head. It fell free, and a murmur went up from those surrounding. Tigress looked away, wincing. The Master's head was a mass of blood. An open wound gaped just over his temple, where he had undoubtedly been struck by a sharp blow.
The kind Master knelt with the panda's head on his knees and asked for the vial. A groan emerged from the injured panda's throat, shallow at first, then gaining in strength. Snatching up the vial, Master Shifu smoothed the healing ointment on the panda's face. Its aromatic vapors produced an immediate result, for the warrior's eyes flickered again and then snapped open as those of a beast struggling out of a dream.
"He just might make it," said Viper. "Give him some herbal tea. He may tell us of his mission," she suggested.
The old Master nodded light-headedly and administered the tea as the injured beast, without strength enough to tilt his head, allowed the liquid to be poured down his throat. Color seeped slowly back into his face, and his breathing now deepened where before there had been no discernable breath at all.
"Welcome, good Master." Tigress addressed the panda respectfully. "If you feel like talking, perhaps you could tell us how you have come here and why?"
The dazed Master closed his eyes and attempted to twist his head in the direction of the speaker. The effort brought a new wave of pain that washed full across his features. He sank back into Shifu's lap. The warrior opened his eyes again, and they shone bright and hard as if strength or will was returning. He opened his mouth to speak; he jaw worked the air, but no sound came forth except for a harsh cough. Tigress knelt down to peer into the stranger's eyes thoughtfully.
"More tea," Shifu called. As the cup was handed to him by Mantis, the plump Master tugged out a pouch from the folds of his robe. He dipped into the small leather bag and sprinled a pinch of the contents into the drink. He then lowered the cup to the injured panda's lips once more. The prostrate beast drank more readily and, finishing, paused before attempting to speak again.
"Now, sir, enlighten an old busybody if you will. That is, if you have no reason to conceal your errand." Shifu inclined his old head. A slight smile creased his face as if to coax the words forth with kindness.
"I'm Po," the young Master said, his voice cracking. Another sip of tea followed that exertion. His eyes, a jade green in the silver light, looked around the tight circle of faces bent over him. "Where am I?" he asked quietly.
"You are among friends," Shifu told him. "This is the revered Jade Palace, and we are its masters. You may speak freely. No harm can reach you here."
As if reassured by the soothing words, 'Po' licked his lips and said with as much strength as he could muster, "I've come here from the Emperor."
The words were simple, but they struck the ears of the listeners like thunder. The Emperor! He comes from the Emperor! The murmur rose to an echo from the high vaulted arches of the Palace.
"Our ruler? Or someone else's?" Tigress asked timidly.
"Emperor Ba'ying," the fallen master answered with spirit.
The name sent another ripple through the gathered students. The Emperor had been absent so long, his name unheard among his own countrymen, that hearing it now brought hope to all gathered there.
"And what of the Emperor?" the old Master asked. He probing had a method to it, Tigress realized; he was occupying the warrior, making him forget his wounds and the pain that had such a strong hold of him. Once again, Tigress found herself wondering at this master. He could not have been much older than she, but he looked as if he'd lived through an entire lifetime. Though that may have been the fact that he looked so wounded from battle. Still, she couldn't help but wonder about this panda as he lay there in her master's lap. She was torn again from her thoughts when Po spoke again.
"I'm sorry, but I can't say anything else. The rest is for the Empress only." The fighting beast gulped air and licked his lips again. "I got attacked last night – ambushed by bandits."
"Do not worry," Shifu said soothingly. "You will remain with us until you are able to resume your errand." He motioned to Monkey, Crane, and Viper to help him lift Po onto a pallet that had been brought. "No one will bother you for the details of your mission. Your secret is safe within these walls. Rest now. I do not like the look of that wound."
"No! I can't!" Po shouted hoarsely, his face contorted with agony. Then in a strange, rasping whisper, "I'm not going to make it. You have to get my message to the Empress. It can't wait!"
Shifu stooped with Po's head gently in this hands as the beast was carefully transferred to the pallet. The panda clutched the wooden sides of the bed and raised himself up on his elbows. His wounds bled on down the side of his head and neck, staining his tunic and robes a dull, rusty gray.
"You've got to help me!" he pleaded. "Somebody has to go to Empress for me!" With that he fell back in a swoon on his bed. The color had run from his face. He appeared dead to those who looked on in fear and wonder.
Monkey, Crane, Mantis, Crane, and Tigress looked from one to another helplessly. Master Shifu stood. He searched the faces of his students, before beginning to pace back and forth, contemplating what they could do. At that moment, the panda regained consciousness. He was too weakened to raise himself up, however. A low moan escaped his clenched teeth.
"Man, that big guy sure does hold on," Mantis said.
"He's still with us. We have to do something!" Monkey cut in.
When the panda tried to sit up again, Crane gently pushed him back down.
"Don't hurt yourself any more than you already have. We have some skill in healing. Rest now. Let us tend to your injuries," he said pragmatically.
"No! You don't get it!" Po said, causing the young students to look at him in confusion. "There's no time. You have to get to the Empress!" His eyes implored the students.
Shifu turned to face the courier. "I cannot abandon my Palace and forsake my duty as its Grand Master. Your errand would place my students' lives at terrible risk and I could not as that of them." The students looked down in shame that they were yet unable to help the panda, given their lack of complete training.
Po looked about desperately to the students in a panicked voice. "Please! Won't at least one of you go to save their Emperor?!" His challenge sounded loud in the ears of those around him, although he'd spoken in barely a whisper.
"I will go," said a small, uncertain voice.
Master Shifu and the other students turned towards the voice. There, in the shadow of the arch stood the figure belonging to the voice. The figure slowly stepped forward to stand by the side of the dying panda.
"You, Tigress?" asked Master Shifu in amazement, worry, and if Tigress was not mistaken, anger? The others stood, mouths agape. "You would go? No! I will not have you throw your life away for another's quest!"
"But Master! You heard what he said! Someone has to go!" Tigress shot back, something she'd never done before. This served to make Master Shifu even more infuriated.
"I won't allow my daughter to risk her life like this!" he shouted. That certainly threw Tigress for a loop. He'd not called her that in a long time. Despite being adopted, she'd never had that sort of relationship with her master. For him to say so now truly showed his own worry and anxiety. Tigress sighed and knelt, coming to eye level with her master, her face softened.
"Father," she started, some uncertainty in her voice. "For many years now I've felt like I've been meant for something more than just my training. It's not that I don't appreciate all you do for me, master! But this is something I must do! I have to do what's right."
Shifu's ears drooped as he realized there would be no convincing his adopted daughter to change her mind. A sad smile came to his face, as he said, "You've always had a strong sense of right and wrong, Tigress, and you've never hesitated from helping those in need. The truth is that I worry for you, but I will not stop you from doing this if this is what you truly want."
Tigress moved to hug her father who returned the embrace, shedding a single tear before wiping it away. The two separated with a sad smile gracing each of their faces.
"Thank you, master," she said, bowing before him, and running off to gather supplies for her journey.
Shifu stood, leaning on his staff and looking up into the night sky.
"I didn't think I'd lose her so soon. But now I see that she has a great destiny ahead of her. I pray to any gods there may be to keep my Tigress safe."
If anybody was wondering where I've been for the last week, this is what I've been doing :)
For anyone wondering, in this story, Po and the five are in their late teens. Feel free to review and let me know what you think! New updates should be coming soon!