Chapter 4

The Party

It was in the valley. The building was lit with lanterns, for the performers were planning on having a party afterwards. There were a couple of dances before, for Tai Lung, dancing was not one of his favorites. But then he saw her, Po said it was Tigress' friend. She was so professional. The other dancers were not as great as her. After the performances, everyone went outside to the party. It was another thing that was not Tai Lung's favorite. The music was fine.

A couple of girls came up to him and asked him to dance. He said no to all of them.

Po went up to Tigress and talked to her. Tai Lung walked around some more, without watching, he bumped into some one. It was Tigress's friend, her tiara fell off.

"Sorry," he said, picking it up for her.

"It's okay," she replied, as he placed back on her head.

Po and Tigress started dancing.

"I'm Jen." She said.

"I'm-"

"Oh, I know who you are." Jen said. "You're Tai Lung."

"Yeah," He shrugged.

"There's rumors going around, they say you've come back, and you're good. Is that true?"

"Yep."

"That's so great!" Jen smiled. "I'm so glad!"

"Um…thanks." Tai Lung said. Why was this girl bothering him?

"Do you want to dance?"

"Huh?" Tai Lung jumped. "I can't…"

"Yes you can!" She laughed. She grasped his paws and pulled him to where everyone was dancing. They danced. It was an interesting experience. Tai Lung's heart was beating hard and fast, and once they were done, he didn't want to stop.

"That was fun!" Jen said happily, then she skipped away to talk with her friends.

Tai Lung walked around the street. He felt dazed and sleepy. He slipped on a small set of steps, and the belt that held his sword slipped off. He landed in the pointy grass, and he felt the brass handle of his sword bounce on his head. His brain started pounding.

"Are you okay?" A sly, buttery voice said. Tai Lung stood up and saw a green creature standing in front of him.

"Sure." Tai Lung replied blankly.

"Quite a party that was, who are you with?" The creature asked.

"No one," Tai Lung said cautiously. "Who are you?"

"Now, there's no need to be bitter." The creature laughed. "The name is Kisu Jin, I just go by Kisu."

"I'm-"

"I'm sure everyone knows who you are." Kisu sneered. "There have been rumors that…the fearsome Tai Lung has returned, and has not yet caused any harm. Do tell me fearsome one…have you lost your edge?"

"The name is Tai Lung." Tai Lung growled in defense. "I don't go by whatever you just called me. And I'm not here to cause harm."

"You just came here to party and meet a girl." Kisu snorted.

"What do you want?" Tai Lung retorted, jumping over Kisu's compliment.

"I want to make you a special deal." Kisu replied. "I can guess the real reason why you're here, and I can understand you. You see, I have a special craving for…authority-you could say? But, the army I'm building up is very unprofessional. I need a kung fu master to lead the way on my mission to gain power over China. Interested?"

"Guess again." Tai Lung said strongly. "I don't intend to stay here long, you have no idea. And if you crave power, you are a fool. I've been down the path of evil once; I dare not to go down it again. It's full of misery and failure."

"Hey Tai Lung, what are you doing?" Po said. The others were with him.

"Nothing, I was just about to return to the party." Tai Lung replied.

"I'm afraid I can't let you walk away now." Kisu said. "Since you now know my plan, you could turn and betray me-"

"Listen!" Tai Lung snapped. "I have made my decision, and you can't change it, so leave me be!"

"Fine, have it your way…attack!" Kisu said.

The six friends found themselves surrounded by badgers.

"Aha! I should have known!" Tai Lung growled in anger. "They're working for you!"

"Yes," Kisu said.

The badgers started attacking them. Tai Lung didn't want to fight them. Punching badgers was like punching thick blocks of metal. They fought off some badgers, but there seemed to be more than they could take. Tai Lung found a gap as an opportunity for them to escape.

"Run! Follow me!" He yelled. They all followed him, but the badgers still gave chase. Once they started reaching more houses the badgers started slowing and eventually started leaving.

"I know a great place to hide!" Tigress said.

"Lead the way." Tai Lung said, nodding.