Chapter 7

High Stakes

The atmosphere of the arena was intense, the air in the setting was quiet and followed by a very faint gust of wind which blew small bits of sand and dust along. In the center of the circle of Mongol soldiers stood two Warriors, one being the Snow Leopard Tai Lung, the other being the male Lion Jian. Both starred one another down, not eyeing anything else, however, their expressions were quite different. With Tai Lung having the look of focus and concentration, while his opponent Jian had more of a cunning and evil expression. This was most likely due to the Lion's pride and arrogance, Jian had thought it to be a foolish decision to make the Snow Leopard fight him, especially with so much on the line, the fate of their country and their lives to name a few things. 'The Dragon Warrior has effectively ruined their chances of defeating me by making that Snow Leopard fight me! There's no way he believes this incompetent fool can beat me, even without the artifacts!' Jian thought confidently as he walked over to the other side while removing the heavy red cape and handing it to one of his personal guards. "So Leopard...The Panda has placed so much weight on your shoulder, but tell me. Do you truly believe you can defeat me?" The Lion scoffed at Tai Lung with a grin on his face as he obviously tried to mock the Snow Leopard. Tai Lung however, did not give the reaction that Jian wanted, instead the Snow Leopard brought his arms up to a defensive pose with a still emotionless face and replied, "I will only ever be known for losing a fight to two people Jian, and you wont be one of them." Tai Lung then shifted his feet into a traditional Kung Fu defensive stance, preparing himself for the fight. Unlike him, Jian wasn't preparing for the fight, he instead was frustrated as his attempts to intimidate the Snow Leopard had failed. 'He has some nerve to say that! I will make him eat his own words! His confidence will be his greatest weakness!' The Lion thought as he now began to prepare for the fight.

All the while, Po was watching and theorizing how the fight would likely play out. 'Tai seems different right now, not just confident, but focused. I hope he keeps this mindset, his victory will depend on it.' Po thought as he carefully watched the two fighters. At his side though, Su had a much different mindset, she unlike the Panda standing next to her had very little confidence that Tai Lung would be able to defeat Jian. Having fought Jian herself, she knew exactly how powerful the Asiatic Lion was with the power of the three artifacts which he wore now, therefor she knew that the Snow Leopard stood no chance against the brute. 'We're doomed...' Su thought as she lowered her head to the point where she looked directly at the ground bellow, almost as if she had lost all hope. "Guards? Before I make a bloody mess of this cocky Snow Leopard, can you see to it that our guest is watching the entire fight? We wouldn't want to deny her the right to watch such a marvelous spectacle!" Jian said sarcastically almost in a shout as he called to his personal guards. And sure enough, several Lioness' each of which were Jian's personal guards forced Su's head up to look towards the two fighters. Su couldn't do anything to stop the two guards from forcing her head up against her will, being tied up saw to that, but this did not change the fact that she didn't want to watch the upcoming fight.

Several minutes passed, as the two fighters focused in and got ready for the epic battle that would ensue in the arena, or as Tai Lung would have referred to it in the past, 'the Legendary Battle!' "Alright Snow Leopard, are you ready to die?" The Lion once again tried to taunt Tai Lung before their battle would commence. "Your move." Tai Lung said with a patient and calm demeanor, obviously having not been affected by the Lion's attempts to intimidate him. "Your funeral Leopard." Jian replied with a hint of murderous intent. And with that, the Lion immediately sprung up and attacked Tai Lung attempting to land multiple powerful hits on the Leopard. Each came very close, however, Tai Lung was not so easily beaten, he managed to block every blow, since dodging was never really his thing. For a Kung Fu Master, Tai Lung had a very offensive style, much like his sister Tigress, he was always either repelling attacks or making attacks of his own. And this is exactly what he was doing now, applying his offense as he stuck back at the Lion with brutally powerful kicks and punches. Each were precise and well timed, complimentary of his combat prowess and his long list of experience in hand to hand combat. Jian seemed to have difficulty at dealing with the onslaught of different attacks which were sent his way, not because he wasn't fast or strong enough, the power of the artifacts granted him the strength and speed advantage automatically. No, this was because the Leopard had something which he didn't, superior dexterity. As Jian tried his best to block and or dodge each attack, they became progressively harder to read, and eventually, Jian's defense broke. Tai Lung now held the advantage, he managed to land two solid hits directly to Jian's face, the first being an uppercut, the second being a round kick which made a loud 'crack' sound as it made contact with the Lion's mandible. Jian was knocked back from the hard impact, and landed on his side while grasping his jaw, 'that piece of filth! He nearly broke my jaw!' Tai Lung smirked at having overpowered the cocky Lion and proving himself in front of Jian's entire army, when Jian made contact with the sandy floor of the arena, his army gasped in disbelief at how their master had just been hit by the Snow Leopard.

"Had enough yet? Or do you wish to continue making a fool of yourself?" Tai Lung asked in a mocking way. "Oh not quite Snow Leopard, you see I made a major mistake in underestimating you, no matter. I will have your skins by the time this is over." Jian said as he got up from the ground and wiping the streaming blood off his mouth. This seemed to bring the energy back to the crowd as they cheered for their Master who seemed like he had just been playing with the Snow Leopard the whole time. Tai Lung got back into his defensive stance while signaling for Jian to come at him. But before anything else, the Lion grabbed the two Zen Bracelets and removed them from his arms. Upon doing this, Jian sported a devilish grin knowing exactly what the outcome would be now that he had complete access to the power of the medallion. 'Uh oh...' Tai Lung thought as he watched a glowing bright red aura surround the Lion courtesy of the Medallion's supernatural energy. He knew he was in trouble, he had read all the scrolls within the jade Palace (excluding Master Oogway's forbidden ones) and there were many that told of the power of the ancient Kung Fu artifacts. Jian had seemed completely normal upon removing the two bracelets, however after a couple of seconds, the cosmic power of the Gong Lu medallion began to consume him as his posture went from upright, to very hunched. He unsheathed his claws and exposed his large and sharp canine teeth as the Lion began to snarl in a violent and aggressive way. As Jian began to snarl like a feral animal, the atmosphere of the fight began to get much more intense, Jian's own soldiers were even shaking in their boots. The Lion was snarling so loudly that he was emitting steam and saliva from his jaws.

"ALRIGHT LEOPARD! ARE YOU READY TO BE TURNED INTO A RUG!?" Jian yelled at Tai Lung with a great amount of ferocity and menace in his tone. Tai Lung remained neutral, not keeping his eyes off the Lion while maintaining a firm stance waiting for his opponent to attack. And he did not have to wait long, because within seconds Tai Lung had to dodge an incoming orb of bright red destructive energy with was heading directly for him. He jumped to the side and rolled to recover which allowed the mass of energy to soar past with forced the crowd of soldiers behind to avoid the blast as well, getting to the sides to dodge the destructive energy. 'Not good, he's pissed off and extremely powerful...' Tai Lung thought, but before his train of thought he was met by a tremendously powerful blow right to the side of his face which launched him back directly towards the crowd. Most of the soldiers in the way of the incoming Snow Leopard stepped to the side to avoid getting hit by him as he soared at them from the impact of the Lion's powerful kick. But his momentum was quickly stopped as Po who had been directly in the way, caught him by the back of the shoulders. Po then put the dazed Leopard back on his feet and said into his ear, "You have to get that Medallion off of him, or you will stand no chance!" Tai Lung rolled his eyes at the Panda's words and he sarcastically replied, "Thanks for the help! Now how the hell am I supposed to do that!?" His voice sounded beaten, as if he was tired, and he was. Po then raised an eyebrow and snapped back, "I don't know!..You're Tai Lung! Figure something out!" Po then pushed the Leopard back into the circle and Tai Lung looked back at the Panda and thought, 'easy for him to say!' "Now look who's making a fool of themselves!" Jian shouted at the Snow Leopard making sure his entire army could hear him. They began cheering for their master who now had the upper hand and was mocking the Snow Leopard. Tai Lung growled from under his teeth and he thought, 'I will get that thing off of your neck Jian...Even if I have to rip it off your corpse!' He then charged at the Lion with a similar stride that the Dragon Warrior had seen before. 'Good thing he's still determined to win, it might save him and us.' Po thought as he recognized how the Leopard ran on all fours towards his foe.

Tai Lung charged at Jian with great ferocity and attempted to pin the Lion to the ground by pouncing on him from above, however this was in vain as Jian managed to avoid the Leopard's attacks due to his reflexes being amplified by the medallion. Jian laughed evilly at the Leopards repeated failed attempts to land a sufficient hit on him, and after the Leopard left himself exposed from over exerting himself in an effort to hit Jian, the Lion made his move and delivered a bone crushing blow right to the Leopard's sternum. The impact once again forced Tai Lung back and onto the ground, though not nearly as far as the first hit. But this time, the pain was much more prevalent. Tai Lung coughed hard as he tried to recover and catch his breath after being hit really hard in the chest. But he couldn't catch a break so easily, for Jian walked up to the Leopard and kicked him in the side of the chest which again knocked Tai Lung over a couple of feet and making him roll to the side. Tai Lung doubled over in pain, he hadn't felt this battered since the Dragon Warrior had launched him in the air and he went through the ground face first. But before he could get up again, he was grabbed by the neck and hoisted up to Jian's eye level where the Lion stared at Tai Lung with a grim look on his face. Tai Lung struggled to free himself from the Lion's strong grasp, but try as he may, his efforts were unsuccessful. "I -Gasp- Suppose you -Gasp- Wouldn't want to -Gasp- Talk this out -Gasp- would you?" Tai Lung struggled to say as the Lion's hands were wrapped around his esophagus and restricting his breathing. Jian didn't seem to find humor in the Leopard's speech and he responded by throwing Tai Lung to the other side of the circle where Tai Lung slid to a halt right next to the soldiers who were watching with great excitement. Tai Lung could hear them shouting and yelling at him in some form of other language, no doubt it was Mongolian. He used his paws to push himself off the ground and get up, but after all the punishment he had just taken it was difficult to do just that. The Leopard managed to get to his feet, but not a second after, the Lion approached him and again grabbed him by the neck. "This will be your end Snow Leopard! Any last words before I take your beating heart from your body!?" The Lion said with saliva dripping down from his fangs with a mass of red mystic energy in his free hand. 'He definitely isn't bluffing...There's only one thing I can think of that will stop him...' Tai Lung thought as he tried to free himself from the Lion's strong grasp on his neck.

Back in the crowd, Su was having a really hard time watching Tai Lung get beaten up like a sand bag and a boxer. She knew right from the start that he didn't stand a chance against the superior Lion, but she couldn't warn him as her mouth was covered. She didn't want to see her Snow Leopard get beaten like this-wait...Her Snow Leopard!? 'Ha! You admitted it! You love him!' Su's subconscious scoffed as it claimed victory. But suddenly, the other side of her subconscious spoke up, 'Oh horse crap! You only want him to win so you and your sisters will be freed! No other reason! Right!?' It argued, with a hint of uncertainty.

Tai Lung try as might, could not break free from the Lion's grasp on his neck. However, he managed to think up a strategy quickly and then he responded, "Two words Jian..." The Lion then began to grin as he knew that the Leopard was about to concede and accept his inevitable fate. However, what the Leopard said next, was not what he was expecting.

"You're nuts."

The Lion raised an eyebrow at the Leopard's strange choice of words before he died. He was expecting the Leopard to say something like, 'You win.' He then began to laugh evilly as he then raised his free arm with the energy of the Medallion coursing through it and prepared to send it right through the Leopard's heart. 'I've got got you right where I want you now!' Tai Lung thought with a hint of mischief. He then took his foot and kicked the Lion right in the crotch where Jian was exposed and vulnerable. The Lion then yipped in pain as any male would after such a painful interaction, he also dropped Tai lung and fell to the ground clutching his groin from the extreme pain. Tai Lung almost laughed as he thought, 'Man, this is reminding me of the other day...' But he knew Jian wouldn't be down for long so he quickly rose and ran up to the Lion and grabbed the medallion and pulled it off the Lion's neck. He then felt a very unstable power in his hand, no doubt due to the medallion being separated from it's user, he knew he couldn't contain the power of the medallion, so he threw it towards Po in the audience. Po smiled at him, and then the Panda took the jade staff from his back and used it to crush the ancient artifact. The medallion cracked upon impact with the staff, however when it was destroyed, it released a large cloud of red mystic energy which rose up into the air and it seemed to evaporate. "Now that that's done..." Tai Lung said with a growing smile on his face. He then looked over to Jian who rose from the ground while still clutching his groin in pain, "You'll pay for that Leopard!" Jian said as he began to recover from earlier. "I think not Jian, without the medallion you are nothing!" Tai Lung said confidently while getting into an offensive stance. Jian looked furious upon hearing this, he then brought his arms up and charged the cocky Snow Leopard. But Tai Lung was right, Jian was nothing without the medallion, the Leopard began to beat up on the Lion with powerfully backed up punches and kicks each of which hurt the Lion every time.

The tides had turned in the other direction with Tai Lung pelting Jian with hits all over with great ferocity and power. Jian tried to fight back, however he was out classed in nearly every category with Tai Lung being a natural and superior fighter. Just then, Tai Lung delivered a crushing uppercut right to the Lion's jaw which launched Jian up and making him fall hard on his back. This effectively incapacitated the Lion, but Tai Lung wasn't done yet. He walked up to the Lion who lay on the ground and stood above him, "Yield!" Tai Lung said as he raised a paw to the Lion. Jian groaned in pain but refused to concede to the 'inferior Snow Leopard'. "Never! I will not be beaten by some worthless runt!" This earned him a hard punch right to his collar bone which made a "Crack!" sound. Jian then roared in pain after feeling his collar bone breaking with the force of the Leopard's punch. "Say it!" Tai Lung said as he once again raised his fist preparing to hit the Lion again.

"Alright! I yield! You and your pathetic country are free from Mongolia!"

Tai Lung smiled in sanctification upon hearing the Lion concede the fight. But there was more that he wanted which the Lion would give to him, "Just me?" He said trying to hint at something. Jian looked for a second like he wasn't going to comply, but when Tai Lung began to raise his paw, he needed no further persuasion, "Alright...You, the Dragon Warrior, AND the Wu Sisters are free..." The Lion said while grasping his broken clavicle in pain. Tai Lung was now fully satisfied as the Lion was abiding by the agreements made before the match. He looked over to see the Panda who also smiled at his achievement as well as the female Snow Leopard who's expression was hard to read as her mouth was still covered, but through this he noticed that she was...Blushing!? He was confused by her strange expression but decided to ignore it for the moment as he then heard Jian say to him, "Now...Be done with it...Kill me." Tai Lung shook his head at this and he replied, "No, you are defeated, there is no need for further violence." Jian then responded sounding to have lost hope, "But I have disgraced my people, and I have disgraced myself."

"No, I will not kill you, I leaned recently from a friend that everyone deserves a second chance."

Just then, Tai Lung heard to voices say, "Where are you taking us! Hey! Answer us!" He then turned his head and saw the other two Wu sisters who looked confused while being detained by two guards. "Sister! You're alive!" They both said in unison upon seeing their Sister alive and well. Tai Lung smiled slightly seeing the sisters reunite, and then he called to the guard who still detained Su, "Release her." The Guard obliged and cut the wrappings on the Leopardess' mouth and also used a key to unlock the cuffs on her back. Su began to stretch her arms as she had been cuffed for nearly two days as well as rub the spots on her cheeks which were bruised due to Jian hitting her. The two shared a quick glance at each other. Though Tai Lung's expression seemed to be satisfied, Su's looked more flirtatious.

Po then walked forward and congratulated the Leopard, "Well done, Master Tai Lung." The Panda said while bowing in respect. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior." He replied as he too bowed respectfully. Po then put his staff on his back and said to Tai Lung, "Now let us leave this place." Tai Lung questioned, "But the exit to the arena is that way Dragon Warrior..." Po replied to the Leopard, "Yes, but we don't need to leave through the main exit." As he said this, Po prepared to perform the Wuxi Finger hold on himself. Tai Lung now understood what the Panda meant and he put his paw on the Dragon Warrior's shoulder preparing for the Panda to perform the technique. Po then looked over to the Wu Sisters who were wondering what the Leopard and Panda were doing and he called to them, "Coming?" They wondered what he was talking about, but it was then that they heard Tai Lung say, "It's okay, you can trust him." Wan and Wing raised their eyebrows thinking if they should really trust two of their biggest nemesis'. But before they could object, Su stated, "Do as he says." The two Sisters looked dumbstruck upon hearing their Sister's words, "But-" "Trust me Sisters." Su said firmly and then she approached the two Warriors. The two Sisters had confused expressions about their faces, but they decided to trust their older Sister as they always did. Po then said, "put you paws on my shoulder." This drew even more confused faces from the Leopardesses but Su reassured them, "Do as he says Sisters." They shrugged their shoulders but did as their Sister told them, so all three Leopardesses placed their Paws on the Panda's shoulder. The Panda then flexed his pinkie finger and immediately, the 5 were surrounded by golden Chi energy which pulsated around them. And then…

A/N: Finally done Chapter 7! Sorry for the terrible pun halfway through XD. Only one more chapter to go though! If you have or are enjoying this story so far, then favorite and follow it to receive notifications on updates! And also

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-Ace_Risk