The Return (Part Two)

Chapter 7

A New Life


Four years have passed, but nothing has changed.

The petite feline; Tigress, lay on her bed in her room. She kept her eyes tightly locked on that one spot she always appeared to observe. That one little dent in the ceiling caused by her as a child, training with Crane. She recurred kicking him illustriously, causing him to fly up, and stick the side of his body hard into the ceiling. She smiled, remembering how remarkable it was when he plunged to the ground... but who saved him from falling again...? Viper did. At that time Viper was pretty new to Kung Fu, but she was very quiet. Tigress remembered Viper joining the Jade Palace as a new student, and she remembered herself being so relieved that a girl finally joined.

Tigress slowly rolled to the side. She quickly glanced at the door to her left. She then thought of Po, a new student training in the steps of Kung Fu for four years now, and chuckled. Po... he was a rather large panda, but a mighty one if you observe his emotions. She did not judge him for who he was now. She once slowly learned years ago that you can never predict what an individuals story may come to. That story you think of now, may change as fast as a peach, falling from a tree; it happens randomly, yet very quick. Eventually they will all descend sometime in fall. 'That's why it is called, Fall.' Tigress recalled Master Oogway teaching her a million lessons she had yet to understand, but now... she's starting to understand them, one by one. He knew it all, about Po, about Tai Lung...

Tigress tiredly rolled over once again, thinking. Tai Lung... she could easily remember that beautiful day, when he looked into her eyes and kissed her... she could remember the confessions he made to her, his voice... and his soft, soft fur. She knew he changed from the inside, finding how horrible he was when that fool, Skyler... or Sky, as he put it came in and started messing with Tigress before he killed her. Tigress remembered Tai Lung tackling Sky to the ground, as her eyes lit up with happiness. It all happened in one night, where the wind blew and the springs stayed hot. But of course, the springs always stay hot, even in the winter. She thought. It's snowing, what horror. She loved snow, of course, but not after a while. Tigress and the others train hours a day outside, and Master Shifu doesn't care if it rains, hails, or snows, he will keep forcing the five, and now, Po, to train with all their might. She shivered. Snow, if only it could be warm for one day. Tigress trailed off her thoughts, eventually leading back to Tai Lung, her lost love. She eventually closed her eyes, and dreampt deeply of him.

"Tigress." Tai Lung smiled. "Carry on with your cleaning. I don't mind."

Tigress thought, then smiled. "I bet you do."


"I do." Tai Lung suddenly opened his eyes, waking up, panting. Again, he dreampt of Tigress. He blinked, as his vision was blurry. He sighed, as sorrow filled his heart, and a lump in his throat. He had to let her go, for if he came back, he would be dead by his own master; Master Shifu. He sat up, and looked around his tiny room. He lived in a village, one filled with animals; foxes, wolves, raccoons, and birds. Many, many birds. Every year he moves from one village to another, hiding his scarred face from the thriving life around him. Each village he travels to are miles from eachother, and the one that he's living in for now is called Jing Zi. This new one that he's been living in for now almost another year is called Liàn. He is now, and always will be a nomad, walking slowly from place to place, in search of a home. He has very much transmuted, his heart has also been changed, along with his actions.

Tai Lung looked back outside through the single window in his tiny house. He softly took a deep breath, as he got up. He quietly stepped out of his house, arms at his side. He walked over to the bathing lake just below a large mountain everyone in the village called Laŏ Hŭ. It somehow stood for a Tigress, in which Tai Lung desperately thought about for the longest of times. He walked slowly along the lake, looking at himself. He stopped in sight of something in the water, and squinted. It looked like something beautiful. It was... Tigress. He smiled, as he looked up at the cloudy skies. He breathed out, seeing his breath come out rapidly in a big white cloud. It was cold out, and it looked like it was about to snow.

"Tai Lung." A precious, feminine voice came. Tai Lung turned anxiously around to see if it was Tigress, but it was Song, a furry red fox who seemed to take much interest in him. She had blue eyes, showing she was very wise: said from the tellers in the village. She was but a couple years younger than Tai Lung, but her personality made her seem much older than him. "What are you doing out here so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" She whispered, in the most steady voice.

"I like my time alone." He said, looking at the water, searching for Tigress' face again.

"As do I, but it's very cold out here, I'm afraid you might catch a fever."

"Let it be, I don't care one way or the other." He licked his lips, as they were quickly frozen by the wind.

Song walked to him quickly and held his arm, expecting to warm him just a little. She stared at the water searching for something, mimicking her friend. "I know you're sad, but you shouldn't shed your tears here."

"How would you know if I shed tears or if I do not?" He shook her off, and looked at her. "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me. So why is it that you think you know what you're talking about... about me?"

"I know you much, I know who you are right now, I have no need to know your past, though. It's history, and you should just move on with what you're trying to cling onto." She replied.

"If you don't know my past, you surely don't know me." He grunted.

"I have no need to. I only know you here, and now." She then gave a friendly smile. "Come on inside, you can tell me anything you want there." She took his hand, as they slowly walked back to the village. Tai Lung was heart broken, and there was nothing there to fix him up, only Tigress could cure him. He looked at Song, who was looking back at him the whole time, searching his eyes for an answer. He gave a weak smile, and stared at the path they walked on, sighing.


Master Shifu softly stepped into the hall. Tigress woke up in a bolt, and quickly rushed to her door, sliding it open. "Good morning, Master." She said along with all the others, Po too. Po got it down: to rest early and wake early before he gets kicked out of the palace. But Master Shifu now declines doing such a thing, for Po was now honored greatly from Tai Lung's defeat. Po stood by his door, perfectly in position: back straight, arms to the side, looking outward. In the past few years, his belly fat has gone away, and he's actually a little buff. But not very buff, for he still loves to eat. He eats when he's upset mostly, so Tigress guessed that when Tai Lung left, they all were a bit depressed, even Master Shifu, well, mostly Master Shifu.

"Uh, Tigress? Master Shifu told you to report to the Training Grounds immediately." Mantis repeated.

As usual, Tigress doses off in the middle of the most random times. "Right." She quickly walked outside, where her feet quickly got numb from the snow. She grunted. Another long day... soon to pass.


Tai Lung slowly awoke to the sight of someone at the foot of his bed. "Morning, sleepy head!" Song laughed.

"Where the hell..." He looked around. He was in Song's house... in a bed... her bed? He then looked at Song, aggravated. "Did we..."

"Oh, no no no no no.." Song then gracefully laughed again. "You fell asleep while I was talking to you. I didn't want to wake you so I put you in this bed you're in.

"Isn't this..." He looked at the bed. "Isn't this your bed?"

"It was the best bed I could offer. I slept next to the fire. No worries, nothing good happened." She looked at Tai Lung, who was staring at her awkwardly. "Err... nothing bad happened." She chuckled, soon getting up. Se walked to a large pot over a fire in the stone fireplace she just built a couple months ago. "Breakfast?"

"No thanks." The leopard tiredly got up, and went for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Back to the lake." He grunted.

"Oh what, you're going to stare at yourself again?" She giggled.

"Bathe, bathe." He corrected, looking down at his moving feet. He sighed. Another day, soon to pass.


Master Shifu smiled. "It's snowing. You know what that means."

Po passed up a moment to briefly moan. "I hate winter!"

Shifu stared him down. "Hate is a big word. Trust me, you don't know what hate is. Only deep inside would you know what it means, and at this state in life, it has no meaning for you; you just recall it as a dislike."

"Fine. I love summer!" Po replied, in a sarcastic tone.

Master Shifu ignored him thoughtlessly. "Today you will learn the technique of disguise and surprise. Now quick students, look deeply at the tree behind you."

They all looked. They seemed astounded by its beauty... they had no time to look up to the views around them, unless it was their time off. But they have better things to do than look at this tree.. It was completely white, and stood tall. It-

BAM! Monkey rapidly went flying into it. Master Shifu was standing behind him. He grinned. "Surprise." His face expression then quickly changed. "Be tense!" He cleverly jumped for Viper, who got into battle stance. He then quickly inverted his step, and dove into the snow around them with a wicked THHMP! They looked around, not realizing their guard was down. Po thought. The snow was three feet high... yeah, he can fit. He dove elegantly into the snow also, as he was looking to deflect his master before he ends up like Monkey. The others followed. Seconds passed as the blank terrain quickly burst into an amazing explosion, as Tigress slid under Po, jumped up, did a back flip and kicked somebody whom she couldn't recall then abundantly jotted her eyes to the one she kicked. It was Shifu. Yes!

Snow was everywhere, in the air, on the ground, everywhere. The others were in the air and on the ground, searching for their master. Tigress walked over to Master Shifu, and stared him down, as he was buried in the snow. "I seemed to have learned it, master." She could not see him for white was everywhere. A few seconds passed. "Master?" She daringly stepped forward, soon quickly being swept off her feet by her master, who was now behind her. In mid-air, her orange eyes quickly scanned the ground, finding a spot for her throbbing hands to be planted on. Once on the ground with two hands, she collapsed, finding she was on black ice. The lake. She gasped, as the floor underneath her cracked.

Master Shifu stunningly smiled. "Stay tense!" He yelled in her direction.

"What!? You're not going to do a thing?" She then clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and fell into the lake. The water felt like knives stabbing into every bit of her shivering body. She held her breath, as she desperately tried to find the bottom of the lake.

"Master!" Crane scarcely screamed, as he swiftly flew out of the battle. "Save her!"

"Shh!" Shifu shunned. "She'll get out." He was still eagerly grinning. He then squinted. "In three... two..."

BOOM! Tigress shot like a bullet out of the supposedly knife-filled lake, screaming. She was still monstrously tense, as her eyes were also still sealed shut. She managed to get out by launching her frozen body powerfully out from the bottom of the lake, breaking the thick ice above her and flying outstandingly out with the wind by her side that would make her land in front of her trainer, frowning like she just came back from hell... well, minus the burning hot part. Their master nodded. "Well done. You should all learn of this. In the worst of spots, always keep your mind with your actions and always tense up. You'll eventually make it out." He turned around, and walked back to the palace. He then quickly raised his right hand. "Come with me." They then followed on his orders. Tigress was shivering, and wanted to go back into the warm palace to dry off, but she wasn't allowed to, for disciplinary measures. She started to walk, as her fur cracked slowly from it freezing over and over again. She shook her head from the icicles. They quickly flew in all directions. She moaned from the sharp pain of each part of her body freezing now too rapidly, but she kept walking.


Tai Lung got back from the waters, dripping. He quickly walked to his house with a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, as he carried his clothes. When he got to his house, he opened his door, seeing Song sitting strangely on his wooden chair. Tai Lung sighed. "Since when did i give you permission to come to my house?" He ranted, walking towards her. Her eyes were wide open, and looking around rapidly. "Song? Did you hear me?" He tightened the towel around his waist. He then put matters into his own hands, as he walked to the chair she was in. "Out!" He dug his paws behind her back and pushed her off the chair, or... tried to. What? He thought... she was tied to the chair. Why would she tie herself to a chair? He grunted, as he untied her. She was still unmovable. She was stuck in the position she was in. He thought, then hit her nerves, making her roughly normal again.

She grunted, and gasped for air. "Tai Lung! Tai Lung..." She hugged him, as he was still half naked. "Thank god, Tai Lung... Thank god...."

"What in gods name happened? Why were you nerve attacked? I need answers!" He cried.

"Him... he was..." Song panted. "A friend of yours... that bastard... he... he hit me! So hard..." She started to cry, as she leaned on the leopard.

"Slow down, slow down... who is this friend of mine? What's his name?" He desperately begged.

Song settled down. "His name... was something... i can't recall... he was a wolf..."

Tai Lung was then struck. He began to think it was... No, no it can't be. "What did he look like?"

"He had... ragged clothes and had white fur... He- he had red eyes and a wristband... a green one... Thank god he had me in your house..." She kissed his neck. Tai Lung was in great shock now. He then knew it was Skyler, the one that chopped off Tai Lungs own tail.. around four years ago near the Jade Palace. He knew undoubtedly it was him. But how did he know about Tai Lung living here? "His name... yes i remember... it was Sky. I'm sure of it. He told me long ago-"

"Long ago?" Tai Lung asked, holding Song by the arms. "What did he do to you?" He panted now.

Song hesitated, as she slowly gained confidence, looking around. "I let you walk out on me... then he came when i started to leave for the lake.. and, and he hit me and i couldn't move. I could move my head but that was it.. he asked me questions on where you were.. and i didn't tell him. He hit me like a mad man though, Tai Lung! Over and over again!" She started sobbing, as she hugged him. "Then you came in... and he ran away." She sniffed. "Thank god.."

Tai Lung stood there for a long time, thinking. He sighed, looking down, finding he was still toweled up. "Turn around." She followed, as she scarcely looked out the small window that he only had. Tai Lung went to change quickly. He came back to her. "What did he say to you?"

She thought, as tears still ran down her furry cheeks. "All he wanted was revenge, revenge on the one that took his honor away from him four years ago. He said he was a friend of yours, is that true?" She begged him.

"No he is not.. that smart ass... what honor was he to have?" He looked out the window, searching for something... an answer to all his questions maybe. "How did he find me?"

"He said it took years to plan and find us... you, i mean. He was tracking you down. This whole time... what happened between you and him?"

Tai Lung looked away from her searching eyes. "It's something too complicated for your precious ears."

Song touched his arm. "I'm sure it's not-"

"It is. Do you want to know why i moved here? It's because i wanted to get away from that life... from a life filled with pain and mourning."

Song's lips quivered. They looked at each other for a while. "...you still mourn, though." She softly spoke.

Tai Lung clenched his furry fists. "Go home. I will deal with this."

"No, Tai Lung, i can't, not after what happened-"

"I don't give a rat's..." He stopped at the sudden outbreak, and corrected himself. "I know... and I'm sorry, but it will never happen again... and if it does, i promise to take good care of you." He looked at her sorrowful eyes, searching them for approval.

She started to cry once again with much more lost control this time. "You better promise that." She held his waist.

He didn't turn away. "I do." He looked deep into her eyes for once. Her magnificant, gleaming eyes. "I promise, I do."

She hugged him once again. "Okay, Tai Lung." She sniffed sorrowfully, then nodded. "Okay." She started to walk out, as he sat down on the wooden chair. She turned around, depressed that she had to leave him once again. "I... I love-"

"Get out.. please." He stopped her. He put his face on his hands, as his elbows rest on his knees. He was in deep thought then. She sighed, and walked out, wiping her tears. It was very true that she was greatly passionate for him. As for him, he did not want anything to do with her, for she was nothing compared to Tigress. But he had to respect her, for she is like any other animal he's treated.