Now it's Mistress Viper's turn. :)
When Tai Lung, Po, and the Five gathered again the next morning—this time in the Hall of Warriors since Shifu no longer made any pretense at disguising the nature of his son's training—the snow leopard was, if not eager and brimming with energy for the day's repair work, at least more accepting of and resigned to it. But when the feline had stretched the kinks from his sore muscles, flexed his arms gingerly a few times, and then declared he was ready to help haul the timbers which would be used to replace the Jade Palace's doors, the red panda disagreed.
While it was true the temple did need a better and more secure portal than the boards spanning the massive hole, there was another, much more crucial task which must be dealt with if the Valley of Peace were to be truly healed, or even resume normal commerce with the rest of China. The doors could wait, with the craftsmen putting the final artistic touches on them in the meantime, until the kung fu masters were available to aid in transporting them.
Instead, the ex-convict's lesson this day, Shifu said, would be raising a new span on the Thread of Hope.
Viper was watching the snow leopard's face very carefully, and with some concern, as this pronouncement was made, and she wasn't at all surprised to see resentment and anger, Tai Lung's constant twin companions, flaring inside his golden eyes. But what did startle her somewhat was a definite tinge of despair to his features.
To be sure, she was no more sanguine about the three-day round trip, or the rather complicated and, honestly, dangerous activity they'd be performing once they reached the gorge. But there seemed to be something else motivating the big feline that she couldn't quite put her tail tip on. Could he be wary of being left alone, without Shifu's good graces or Po's almost unconditional friendship, in the company of the five masters who had nearly beaten him almost two weeks ago? Did he have some other reason he didn't wish to leave the Valley? Or could it be he found the job itself too arduous?
Whatever the reason behind it, the snow leopard seemed to have realized by now that nothing he said would deter Shifu, for he was bound and determined Tai Lung would do his penance and change his ways if it killed one or both of them. Sighing despondently, he only listened glumly as the red panda outlined the procedure, stressing that more than any other lesson he had planned, this would require close teamwork between all six of them, and that in his absence, Tai Lung was to obey Tigress as if she were his Master—in fact, he should consider all of the Five his masters for the duration of the journey.
The serpent winced to herself, quite certain Tai Lung would not take to this arrangement at all well—and in a way, she couldn't blame him. For one who had been the greatest (and, for a time, the only) student of the Jade Palace, to suddenly find himself demoted and forced to both obey and consider his superiors five warriors, all but two of which (Mantis and Crane) were at least half his age, must be deeply discouraging. But to her shock, he did not object, or even comment upon it—instead only asking whether Po would be going with them.
Hiding a grin behind her coils, Viper wondered which was the real reason Tai Lung wanted the Dragon Warrior along—so he could sample more of the panda's exquisite cooking, or if he was actually starting to accept and even enjoy Po's company. When Shifu noted that Po needed to stay in the Valley to resume his kung fu training, but that he would be sending warm baskets of packed lunches for everyone, the snow leopard seemed inordinately satisfied, but she also thought she detected a little disappointment still. That is SO sweet!
Of course, she seemed to be the only one who found it so, and one of the few who wasn't upset at the prospect of spending so much time traveling and working with the ex-convict. After the roofing work of the day before, Crane had warmed up considerably to Tai Lung, and even Monkey had mellowed—a little. But overall the simian was still rather hostile, Mantis had been cold since the acupuncture session, and as for Tigress...
Viper shook her flowered head sadly, watching her closest friend among the Five as the striped feline turned her back and stalked in the direction of the bunkhouse—ostensibly to fetch a rucksack, but she could see the stiffness in her spine and shoulders and knew Tigress was extremely unhappy with this arrangement. Or at least, that she had a great deal of nervous tension within her at the thought of having to be around Tai Lung. Was she still that bent out of shape at losing to him? Or did this have something to do with the confrontation they'd had in his cell, which she still refused to talk about...?
Whatever was going on with her, however, Viper wasn't likely to pry it out of her so long as Tai Lung was within earshot. And the fact the serpent had not taken Tigress's side against the terrorizing killer made her fear her friend might never confide in her at all.
But, she reflected several hours later as she slithered along the last cobblestone street of the village outskirts alongside her companions, she truly couldn't help how she felt. She knew, of course, that Mantis for certain and probably Crane as well believed her choice in the matter had more to do with the rippling pectorals and well-defined abdominals the snow leopard sported. And she had to admit, with a trace of shame, one possible reason she might have lost at the Thread of Hope herself was the distraction afforded by being in such close quarters with an undeniably handsome man, one who was clearly aware of how seductive he was and took the utmost advantage of his charm and charisma. Not to mention what she'd caught sight of at the bathhouse when she was spying—er, checking up on Tai Lung...
Yet there was much more to her than the shallowness Mantis and Monkey usually saw in her...and she had a very good reason indeed for wanting to believe in Tai Lung that had nothing to do with his appearance.
Glancing up at the spotted feline as he carried on one shoulder, without a grumble of protest, the bulky burden of the new bridge rolled into a wooden coil, Viper dared to peer into his rather somber, solemn face when she was sure he wasn't looking. Though she would never act in such a reckless, murderous fashion as he had, she understood why it had hurt him so deeply, to have everything he ever believed in, his future and self-worth and above all, his father's love, stripped away from him.
Because these were all things she had always possessed and taken for granted. She had come from a high-class, extremely wealthy background where she had never wanted for anything, and moreover, both of her parents had doted on her extremely. Despite the fact she'd been born fangless and so seemed incapable of following in the...slither prints of her father's kung fu mastery (until they grew in later, of course), she had never been made to feel that this rendered her inferior, that she would ever be loved any less or deemed unworthy.
All she had ever experienced was kindness, devotion, and love...everything Tai Lung had been denied, or believed he had. He'd certainly been made to feel, perhaps inadvertently, that only if he attained the scroll and became the Dragon Warrior, or at least mastered kung fu, could he ever receive Shifu's love and approval.
As such, Viper was determined now that the snow leopard would not suffer these losses any longer—that she would not rest until Tai Lung had found the happiness he'd been denied and the fulfillment he craved. Though she had no reason to, she felt guilt that she'd led such a sheltered, almost charmed existence while he had been through so much anguish and torment. So in some strange way, she wanted to share her good fortune with him, to help give him a taste of what he'd been missing...what he might one day have with Shifu after all.
The only way to begin that process, however, was to interact with him more—and certainly not on the level of teacher and student. So as the other four masters led the way along the river's winding courses and began ascending the mountain ledges that would take them to the Thread of Hope, Viper hung back, crawling along at the snow leopard's side.
And even as she gathered her thoughts, trying to decide how best to approach the matter, Tai Lung (unsurprisingly) could not mistake her seemingly coincidental presence for anything other than what it was—certainly not for anything innocent or meaningless. He was, at least in some ways, an observant fellow.
"Something on your mind, Master Viper?" The tone of disdain he'd adopted throughout their battle at the bridge was gone, although his voice did seem...detached, she would have to say. As if his mind was preoccupied with something else. "Or are the rest of the Five starting to be a bit too much for you? Because I don't know about you, but I'm rather finding them to be a bit...cold."
Viper lidded her eyes briefly, and not only because of the rather predictable and annoying reptile pun. For she also knew he was absolutely right. And while she understood, for the most part, why her fellow kung fu masters distrusted and rejected Tai Lung—aside from what had happened the first time they'd encountered each other—she also couldn't help being disappointed in them. Crane at least was trying, but the others varied from neglectful and apathetic to downright hostile. As she'd said in the kitchen over a week ago, this sort of attitude not only hurt the snow leopard, it completely undermined his chances of changing himself for the better. Not to mention that now that he'd accepted the offer to stay at the Palace, refusing to cooperate in Tai Lung's rehabilitation constituted disobeying Master Shifu...
Finally, after she could no longer justify her silence and it had stretched to an extremely awkward length, she sighed and nodded. "I hate to admit it, but it's true. Still, I think if you give them enough time, and they get to know you better, things might change."
The feline snorted. "Yes, and the Emperor will arrive on his palanquin tomorrow to pardon me in person. And when the New Year arrives, I'll suddenly have more good luck and prosperity than I can shake a stick at. Oh, and all the pigs in the Valley will sprout wings, too."
Viper didn't appreciate the sarcastic, mocking tone Tai Lung used, or the lack of confidence he displayed in her friends' ultimately generous natures...but privately, she had to agree that at the moment at least, the snow leopard couldn't be blamed for feeling doubtful of his acceptance. "You don't need to be so unfair to them. They have plenty of good reason to be wary of you, you know. But they're also reasonable—" Well, most of them. "—so they can't stay distrustful of you forever."
Glancing sidelong at her over the wooden slats of the bridge, he raised an eyebrow curiously. "I get the odd impression you aren't wary of me, then. Or distrustful. May I ask why?"
If she'd had feet, the serpent would have tripped over them. She hadn't meant to make her feelings so obvious, her tongue having run away with her while she did her best to reassure Tai Lung that things didn't have to stay fixed and immutable. But now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, she wasn't quite sure how to explain herself.
"Well...it's not that I'm not still nervous around you. You did leave all of us in pretty bad shape, after all. And you do know more kung fu than all of us put together. But my mother always taught me to see the best in people—to believe that, given the chance, most of them are generally good, and will make the right choices, as long as they have good examples to follow."
For several minutes the snow leopard said nothing, only focused on putting one foot in front of the other as he scaled the ever-rising ledge along the cliff face, his breath coming in deep, even pants that suggested one used to strenuous exercise rather than gasping for air. Then he shifted his burden to a better position and eyed her askance.
"You know, I used to think people like your mother were fools. Sad, pathetic do-gooders who couldn't see the real way the world works, who'd keep mindlessly parroting their blind beliefs until reality bit them on the arse. Now...now, I don't know what to think."
Well, at least it was some progress anyway. Frowning, Viper said, "Every time I hear you say things like that, Tai Lung, it makes me see just how truly hurt you've been."
Tai Lung bristled instinctively before visibly forcing himself to calm down. But when he spoke his voice was still quite tight and brusque. "I don't want, or need, your pity." Seeming to catch himself, he forced his tone to soften. "Er...there's really no good way to answer that, though. Let's just say I've had my fair share of misfortune and leave it at that, hmm?"
Before she could take issue with that answer, or think of another way to approach him, he continued. "Anyway, don't think you can distract me. Because unless I missed something, you still haven't told me why you sought me out."
Damn. She'd hoped he might have overlooked that, so she could keep up her subtle probing...but he was far too clever for his own good. "Well...you may not believe it, but I actually wanted to apologize."
"For what?" The snow leopard sounded both puzzled and wary.
Viper crawled in an agitated wriggle, her scales rasping on the rock as she nerved herself to say it—not because she didn't truly wish to, or harbored as much distrust and resentment as the rest of the Five did, but for the simple reason she didn't know how Tai Lung would take it. The last thing she needed, when trying to convince the feline that someone cared and was willing to help him work toward some sort of peace and happiness in life, was to have his arrogance rear its ugly head again because one of the greatest kung fu warriors in China admitted wrongdoing where he was concerned. Still, she couldn't avoid it any longer, and perhaps it just might help him.
"Um...I'm sorry that I made you hit yourself, when we fought at the bridge," she finally said, lamely.
Tai Lung blinked rapidly, though she couldn't tell if his confusion was because she'd actually done him the courtesy of an apology, or because she actually thought one was necessary for such an action. Then he smirked rather cheekily and spread his free paw in an expansive, magnanimous gesture. "Quite all right, Master Viper. All's fair in love and war, you know. And anyway...I've had worse, believe you me." He winked conspiratorially.
She supposed he was attempting, in his own way, to reassure her he meant her no ill will, but his tone came off as rather condescending—as in, that the reason he'd had worse injuries was because they hadn't been delivered by sweet, gentle females. If there was even a hint of truth to that interpretation, he needed to be put in his place before Tigress encountered such a misogynistic attitude—she had never been one to settle for the 'traditional' role of women in Chinese society. Her taking this out on Tai Lung wouldn't help his situation at all.
Besides, he was being annoying.
Narrowing her eyes, Viper stiffened and gazed up at him just as patronizingly. "Really? Then the next time my deceptive dancing defies your nimble nerve strike, remind me to bring that up again."
The snow leopard stared at her, dumbfounded, for several moments...swallowed imperceptibly...and then softly gasped, "That...that was you? You were the Protector of the Moon Festival, the one who took on the Gorilla Bandit all by yourself, and won? I...I heard about that from Vachir, while I was in prison..." All trace of jocular teasing and knowing cockiness vanished. "Forgive me, Master Viper. I meant no disrespect to a legend such as yourself. I was only saying I didn't suffer unduly, so you have no need to apologize."
In spite of herself the serpent felt the glow of pride in her heart. It was gratifying, seeing Tai Lung act so polite, well-mannered, and cordial. It also proved something else. Master Shifu was right in one respect—he can be trained. Ducking her head graciously, she smiled. "No harm done. Try to be more careful though...if you say the wrong thing to the wrong person, there's no telling what might happen. Not that you couldn't fight your way out of it, I'm sure. But you shouldn't have to resort to kung fu unless it's absolutely necessary."
He sighed, accepting her gentle reprimand much more readily than she'd expected—perhaps she'd been too harsh in her judgment, and he really had meant nothing by it. "Every time I think I have things figured out, another pitfall opens up under me. I feel like I'm in the training hall and Master Shifu keeps adding new obstacles every time I turn around."
Viper paused as they reached the summit of the ledge, even though the rest of the Five were waiting for them (Tigress with extreme impatience) at the narrow wooden stilt bridge leading to the next peak over. Resting her tail tip on Tai Lung's arm, she said sympathetically, "I know exactly what you mean. I hate to say it, though, but...that's the way life is. It never lets you settle down and become complacent—it's always testing you."
Tai Lung nodded, even as his expression became decidedly unhappy. "I know. And I wouldn't have it any other way, really—the day I could ever do such a thing, I'd be dead...or there'd be no challenges left for me, which amounts to the same thing. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
"No," she agreed. "But there is one thing you're missing. You don't have to be alone in this. You have Po, and Master Shifu, to help you face them. And you have me. Because I think you have a chance, too."
Chuckling ruefully, the ex-convict rubbed the back of his neck. "I still don't understand...this is going to take some getting used to."
"Tell me about it," Viper muttered, her gaze locking on Tigress where she stood, arms crossed severely and visibly fuming. "But as Po said once, we have to start somewhere."
"Fair enough." Tai Lung paused too, then smirked lopsidedly. "But no matter what, there's no way in hell you're turning me into a ribbon-dancer."
At this, Viper began to laugh.
Catching up to the rest of the Five, and pointedly ignoring the nasty looks Tigress and Monkey sent in her direction, Viper continued to converse animatedly with the spotted cat as their group traveled through the mist-shrouded and eerily silent mountains. And as the day wore on, very slowly, by fitful stages and uneven, jerky jumps, Tai Lung uncertainly began to respond to her persuasion and open up about himself.
Small tidbits here and there at first, memories from his cubhood almost forty years ago when China was a different place: massive tracts of untamed forest which had once covered this whole region, until they were cut down to make room for the farmsteads and croplands which now spread along the mountain passes; rare early days before his training intensified, when he was allowed to go down to the village and play with the young rabbits and sheep who didn't know to fear him for his species; the first time he entered the Hall of Warriors, awed and overwhelmed by the centuries of history and art preserved there; and the excitement of the fireworks at his first New Year's celebration—complete with gorgeous dragon puppets, their antics on the Jade Palace steps viewed from his perch on Shifu's shoulder.
With further prompting, however, Tai Lung admitted—often with apparent pain—deeper moments from his past that resonated with him...and with the Five. Lunches with Shifu at the Pool of Sacred Tears, and his first sight of the Imperial City. The awe-inspiring spectacle, in far-flung Tengchong, of plains and mountains of fire—Oogway called them volcanoes—including one nearly constant plume of molten rock which rose almost high enough to consume the glittering gem dangling from the cliff face above it...no one knew if it were a diamond or merely rock crystal, but the formation was known as the Dragon Stealing Heaven's Tear, and figured largely in the mythology and superstitions of the area.
The appearance in the Valley of a contingent from the Anvil of Heaven, before twenty years of complacency, boredom, atrophy, and dependence on weapons and devices instead of kung fu had ruined their later generations at Chorh-Gom, turning them into a pathetic shadow of the great army they had once been centuries ago, under Master Flying Rhino. And, told with grudging but genuine wonder, the tale of how a Mongol army assaulting the Great Wall had received a visit from Master Oogway...who, with assistance from Shifu, had almost single-handedly repelled the entire ravening horde while an adolescent Tai Lung could only watch, stunned and awed. After that display of blinding speed and shimmering waves of chi washing across the battlefield, never again would he consider a turtle slow, no matter the reptile's usual languorous attitude.
Considering how rare it had been for the Furious Five to see the Grand Master in action, every one of the masters listened raptly and intently to this last tale—even Tigress could not keep the amazement and appreciation from her face, though she quickly turned it back into its rigid, heartless mask and denied everything.
Understandably, by the time evening was falling and they had to stop to make camp for the night in a sheltered cave, Tai Lung had become rather withdrawn again, his eyes a mystery as they danced with so many haunting memories. So as he politely but firmly excused himself to sit on a shelf of rock near the fire, away from the others, Viper instead slithered over to Tigress's side. She intended to plumb her fellow master's thoughts on what they had heard, to see if it had made any difference at all in her cold, unyielding wall of hate and suspicion.
But before she could even open her mouth, the striped feline made her feelings undeniably clear. The conversation, such as it was, was short, succinct, and to the point, the words clipped and brittle.
"If this is about Tai Lung, Viper, I don't want to hear about it. I've been listening to him ramble on all day—as if hearing his memoirs is supposed to wipe away all the evil he's done! So forgive me if I'm not in the mood to talk about him any more."
"Tigress!" Viper gasped, genuinely shocked at her friend's harsh words. "How can you say that? At least he's making an effort here, unlike someone else I could name. What is wrong with you? Why won't you give him a chance?"
Whipping her head around as she stopped stripping away the green, moist, non-flammable wood from the rest of the logs they'd gathered, Tigress skewered her with a furious glare. "Because you are my friend, Viper, I will forgive you for that breach of etiquette. But I will say this once, and once only: leave...me...alone."
She knew she shouldn't keep pushing, that the growl in Tigress's throat and the smoldering heat in her eyes were very dangerous warning signs. But she couldn't allow things to end like this—or for Tigress to think she could get away with being so, well, immature. "Is this about what happened in Tai Lung's cell that night? You never would tell us about it."
The tree limb in Tigress's grip snapped in two as her paw clenched uncontrollably. The fact there was uncertainty and even anguish in her eyes, as well as anger, completely floored Viper. "Yes! No. I don't know! I...I can't explain it. Not now. I don't even want to think about it."
A terrible thought came to Viper, and suddenly she forgot all about defending Tai Lung as instead her venom, so to speak, was directed at him. "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you, Tigress?"
Taken aback, Tigress recoiled a little. "No."
"Did he threaten you, then? Or Po, or the rest of us? Did he say something he shouldn't, or abuse you in any way?"
"What? No, no! Nothing like that." Only the real confusion and disbelief in her voice convinced Viper to back down.
"Then what is it? What did he say, or do?"
"Something unforgivable. But I said, I don't want to talk about it. Please?"
Viper blinked. She made a statement like that, and expected her to just drop it? "No, I'm not letting this go, not until you tell me what—"
"Arrgghhhh!" Venting her frustration at last, Tigress surged to her feet, her claws actually unsheathed and brandished in Viper's direction. While the rest of the Five stared in shock, and even Tai Lung looked up in mild distress, the feline snarled and turned instead to swipe at the wall, her claws drawing sparks and leaving deep gouges in the stone.
"That's it! If you like that bastard so much, why don't you go cuddle up with him for the night? I'm going to bed..."
And with that she stalked away into the deepest, most shadowy corner of the cave.
Viper stared after her, hurt and shaken in more ways than one. She was not about to push things any farther, nor cause any deeper rift than had already formed between her and Tigress—not even for Tai Lung's sake. But for a moment she was strongly tempted to snap her tail rigid and smack the striped feline hard on the rump as she passed—because she certainly deserved a paddling at the very least. She's acting like a spoiled cub! I don't understand...I don't understand this at all...
After they awoke the next morning, Tigress acted as if nothing whatsoever had happened—though her cold shoulder toward Tai Lung seemed to have grown as high as the snowdrifts of Tibet, she was once again friendly and solicitous toward Viper.
On the one coil, the serpent was relieved that their friendship had not been irrevocably severed by her refusal to take no for an answer; on the other coil, she found it rather audacious of Tigress to brush the whole matter aside and pretend it never took place, while the rest of them—especially Viper—still had to contend with the emotional fallout.
Still, she wasn't about to rock the boat this time, so with a fair amount of internal grumbling and distress, Viper let it drop.
Not only did her decision to do so encourage the rest of the Five, even the snow leopard seemed inordinately relieved that hostilities weren't renewed. Whether this was because he was afraid any bad feelings amongst the Five would be blamed (and rightly so, unfortunately) on him and so get him in trouble with Shifu, or because he'd actually escaped his selfish mindset enough to care about what his actions did to others, Viper had to smile reassuringly at Tai Lung. Even if he'd been the source of contention, he clearly hadn't done this on purpose or wished for it to happen. And whatever he had said or done in his cell (if in fact anything had really happened beyond Tigress's usual tendency to overreact), he seemed to be quite sorry for it.
Once their supplies were gathered together and Crane had double-checked to ensure the embers from the fire were all thoroughly doused, the six of them set off once again to the south. Without Viper slowing them down with continued conversation, they made good time, and so by midday they had reached the forested plateau which fronted the Thread of Hope, and then at last achieved the massive stone gateway that marked what had been its northern boundary.
Coming to a halt atop the precipice, all of them couldn't help but stare across the Devil's Mouth at the distant peaks and the bridge which was strung between them. Though they had all seen it before, the sight never ceased to amaze Viper at least—she didn't know how the rest of the Five felt—and Tai Lung, she imagined, hadn't exactly been focused on the view when he stood here last.
Angling back and forth from one mountaintop to the next, the wooden span swayed visibly in the whistling air currents, but otherwise remained as rock-steady and stable as it had for the last century. Some gossips in the Valley of Peace actually claimed it was a millennium old, that it had been here even before Oogway arrived and the grateful citizens built the Jade Palace in which he would dwell, something which was manifestly impossible. But it was certainly ancient enough that at times it seemed incredible it still stayed suspended at all, let alone supported all the traffic it received.
Of course that might have been due to the fact that parts of it were much newer and of more modern construction—the fate it had suffered thanks to the climactic struggle between Tai Lung and the Five was not the first such accident it had met with in its long existence, and probably would not be the last; plus general upkeep and maintenance meant rotten planks and unraveling ropes were routinely replaced. All in all, the Thread of Hope was aptly named, as it provided the only lifeline to the outside world for the sheltered valley, but its ten spans could always be counted on whatever else changed in China.
Or rather, nine spans. For of course, the yawning chasm directly before them remained empty and uncrossed, the plateau they stood upon utterly cut off from the nearest peak by the toppling of the only link between them. The near side of the bridge had dropped completely away into the river valley when Tigress had severed the ropes and Mantis released his hold, while the far side (or what was left of it, after Tai Lung had smashed Tigress through nearly every plank) now dangled in the shadows of the opposing cliff-face, barely visible save for the rope which Crane had used to entangle the snow leopard. There was, in fact, absolutely nothing salvageable; it was a good thing the craftsmen in the village had fashioned a whole new span for them.
For several long moments, the kung fu masters contemplated the very visible evidence of their violent combat only a week and a half ago—and while Viper had no idea what the others were thinking, she had decidedly mixed feelings on the matter and was fairly certain some of them did, too. Except Tigress, of course, who despite giving Shifu the go-ahead on his plan seemed to have her opinion of the snow leopard set in granite.
After staring down into the ravine with what seemed to be genuine shock, Tai Lung at last looked up and gave the rest of them a rather helpless look. "Damn. And here I thought all we'd have to do is hoist up the remnants on this side, and have Crane fly out to tether the sections together again. Not going to be as easy as all that..."
To the avian's credit, he only glanced soberly and expressionlessly at Tai Lung for the unlikelihood of that prospect before ducking down beneath his hat and shaking his head. Tigress, of course, rolled her eyes and snorted contemptuously. "Of course not! And here I thought you were an observant warrior who always paid attention to his surroundings...oh, that's right—you couldn't. You were rather...tied up at the time."
Silence for several moments, broken only by a soft wince and mutter from Mantis: "Oooo...me-oww." He might have said more, if Crane hadn't deliberately clipped him with his wing.
An extremely resentful look crossed Tai Lung's muzzle, and for a moment his paws clenched into flexing fists. But then he shook his head and shrugged philosophically. "A fact which I cannot deny. How, pray tell, are we going to fix it, then?"
Monkey indicated the bird with a smirk. "What, you forget already? We got wings on our side here. Crane can fly the ropes across just fine."
Tai Lung looked dubious. "No offense meant to Master Crane, but wouldn't the entire bridge be just a tad too weighty for him? He needed you and I to help him lift one plank onto the Jade Palace roof..."
"None taken," Crane said evenly. "But I wasn't going to be carrying the whole thing by myself—that's why the craftsmen made the bridge this way, already strung on its ropes and handrails and compressed together. It'll weigh down the middle, but I can handle it for a short flight."
Rubbing his jutting jaw thoughtfully, the dawning of understanding in his golden eyes, the snow leopard glanced at each of the other masters, as if mentally calculating all their strengths and weaknesses and adding them together to make a coherent mosaic.
"Let me guess...you're going to take Mantis across with you, since he's the smallest and lightest. Because he's also got the strength to pull the ropes taut and help you tie them off." He nodded in acknowledgment to the insect. "I saw what you did, holding up the entire bridge by yourself with all of us on it. Quite a feat, Master Mantis, I salute you."
For the first time since he'd been welcomed back to the Jade Palace, Crane smiled at Tai Lung. "Right in one." Mantis, on the other hand, just dipped his head perfunctorily, though he couldn't hide the gleam of vindication in his beady eyes.
Tai Lung considered the others. "Which I'm guessing leaves Monkey and Viper to tie off the ends on this side. But that leaves only one problem." He pointed out into the middle of the drifting, pearly-gray clouds spread across the mountain range and turning each of the Cliffs of the Great Awakening into a lonely island. "Just how is the bridge supposed to be extended, when it's out there, and we're over here?"
That was the same question Viper had asked the other members of the Five when they'd devised this plan...and though she didn't like the answer anymore than Tai Lung would, she knew it was really the most efficient and in fact the only way.
"Heh-heh." Monkey crossed his arms over his slender chest. "That's where you come in."
It took several moments for the full import of this to sink in. When the snow leopard finally picked up on the meaning of the simian's smirk, and how both he and everyone else kept glancing between the promontory and the place, currently in the middle of empty space, where the bridge boards would be hanging once the ropes were tied off, his eyes widened and he actually took a step back. "You can't be serious!"
Mantis twitched his feelers, his expression flat and unmoved. "I might be wrong, but I think we can."
Again, Tai Lung pointed out into the gorge. "Out there. You want me to go out there?"
Now, at last, Tigress was smiling, the predatory look she saved for only the choicest of occasions. "That's right."
"Out on nothing but ropes above a thousand-foot drop?"
"Uh-huh." Monkey grinned too.
"All by myself?"
"That's about the size of it," Crane observed.
Another silence. Then: "Are you all out of your bloody minds?" Though the snow leopard was doing his level best to adopt his usual urbane, drawling tone, there was more than enough of a twinge of incredulity and a slight hint of panic to give away how truly on edge he was.
Monkey and Mantis instantly burst out laughing. Crane merely looked uncomfortable, while Tigress took on the task of 'convincing' Tai Lung—stepping forward with an impatient snarl and the rather suggestive cracking of her knuckles. "Look. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but no matter how it plays out, you're doing this. End of discussion."
"No! No, I'm not! Fixing this damn bridge is one thing, but no one said anything about putting my life in danger to do it."
Giggling even more uncontrollably, Monkey put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, this is rich! What's the matter, Tai Lung? You scared of heights?"
The snow leopard snarled wrathfully, whirling about to stalk toward his accuser. "Like hell I am! I don't have a damn problem with heights—it's the sudden stop at the bottom that I take issue with." This time Crane laughed, though it seemed to be at the feline's distinction, not at him.
Viper, meanwhile, was tentatively testing the air with her tongue—and to her surprise, she did indeed pick up the scent of fear coming from Tai Lung. But how could that be? He'd fought them here at the Thread of Hope without a single indication he was bothered by the locale, shown no compunctions about smashing and shredding his only means of support, raced easily on all fours along nothing but ropes, and leaned against them to converse as if he stood on solid ground.
Unless that had all been a pose, to mislead them and distract himself...she recalled, now, that never once had she seen him look down during the battle. Or perhaps he'd been able to tune out the danger when so given over to bloodlust, adrenaline, and vengeance—but now that he was outside combat, and free of the fog with which they clouded his mind...
The latter seemed to be the case, as Tai Lung soon snapped, rather coldly, "Being out there in the middle of a duel, when my blood was hot, was one thing. This is entirely different! And I still don't see why it has to be me—just because Shifu, or you, say so? What will Tigress be doing, eh? Why can't she help?"
Before the leader of the Furious Five could answer, Viper finally intervened. Softly, gently, she explained, "No, that isn't it at all. The reason you were chosen is because you have the best balance out of all of us—I'm sorry, Monkey, but it's true!—and were such a natural out there on the bridge. We just assumed you'd be able to handle this job just as easily." Flattery never hurt, especially when it was true.
While Tai Lung grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest, looking as if he couldn't decide whether to be pleased or annoyed, the serpent continued. "There's also something very specific we need to get the bridge in place, and it's something only you can do." She took a deep breath, then amended her statement. "Or only the highest level of kung fu warrior can do, anyway. We've seen Master Shifu do it before...he taught you all he knows...and you did master all one thousand scrolls. So—can you redirect your chi, and use it to shove the air, send out a blast of wind?"
Blinking, apparently not having expected this, the spotted feline looked from one warrior to the next until finally, reluctantly, he nodded. "Yes. There's a trick to it, of course...but it's really not that difficult. Anyone can do it, if properly taught." From the sound of his voice, he hated having to admit this, yet clearly at the same time he saw such a claim as his only possible escape clause, training one of the Five so they could act in his stead.
"Not in enough time to suit our purposes," Crane interjected. "And anyway...I don't know if any of us have enough chi for that. It has to be you, and it has to be like this. A wind like that can separate the boards, blow them out along the ropes and into position faster than any other way we might try."
Viper, however, had been thinking rapidly, and now with a new confidence she dared to disagree. "I don't think that's quite true, though. There's one other here who I'm certain has more than enough will to make a blast like that. And she's advanced enough that Shifu has taught her how, too. Hasn't he, Tigress?"
The master of the Tiger style glared at her in betrayal, but Viper wasn't moved by it one bit—she was bound and determined that her friend would get over this immature display and start treating Tai Lung with decency and respect, if not trust and acceptance, whatever it took. Tigress had promised, after all, not to interfere with or work against Shifu's plan, yet right now her stubbornness and pride were doing exactly that.
And if I have to force you two to work together to get you to snap out of this and remember what forgiveness is, so be it.
Monkey, meanwhile, seemed just as against the idea. "What? That's crazy talk, Viper! You wanna put Tigress and him together, alone, out there on those ropes? Are you trying to get her killed?" Tai Lung growled at him, and the serpent didn't blame him—considering how he'd acted since being brought back to the Jade Palace, it was rather unfair to expect such treachery now.
But Mantis and Crane, however, were looking intrigued and even amused by the possibility. "No no," the insect said, holding up his pincers calmingly. "This could actually work."
"What?"
The bird winced at their leader's furious exclamation, looking a little glummer, but he glanced from Viper to Tigress with a rueful smile. "Um...I hate to say it, but they have a point. You do know how to do it, and in case anything goes wrong out there, it'd be better to have someone else on hand."
Visibly composing himself, Tai Lung bowed formally to his fellow feline, though she could hear the strain in his voice as he spoke—the conflict between his reluctance to ask for help and the undeniable fact he truly needed it must have been strong. "Master Tigress...I promise you, no harm will come to you while you're out there, at least not from me. And if the two of us work together on this, it'll be done that much faster. The sooner we're back on solid ground, the safer we'll be."
Faced with such cogent and well-reasoned arguments, the striped cat looked rather cornered and pinned, but with no way out (intellectually as well as physically), she had no choice. Sighing heavily, she then stood straight and skewered each of them with a fiery gaze. "Fine. If you're all so certain this is needed, I'll go out there and coax the kitten along if he freezes up. But he's going first; I'm not about to let him ogle my backside if I can help it."
Mantis, ever the pervert, chuckled appreciatively, while Crane covered his face with his wing and Monkey looked scandalized. The snow leopard, meanwhile, who had been on the verge of spluttering persistent defenses of his dignity, instead flushed briefly and fell silent. Which only made Viper stare wonderingly at him...and then slowly smirk.
True to his word, the avian kung fu master succeeded in easily flying across the gorge, all four ropes of the span clutched in his taloned feet while the insect perched on his shoulder. About five or ten minutes after they had disappeared into the mist, the trailing ropes slowly began to rise, the sweeping loops becoming brief arcs and then finally pulling taut, the compressed bridge now hanging as a solitary dark blotch marking the middle of the span. And once Crane's voice floated back to them, saying Mantis had secured his ends, Viper's adroit tail tip backed up by her muscular coils did the same with one set of ropes, while Monkey's dexterous fingers mirrored her on the other side.
With those tasks accomplished, there was only one job left to perform, one which neither Tigress nor Tai Lung looked upon with relish. But they could not shirk their duty...and so, nerving himself and refusing to look down, the snow leopard rolled his shoulders, adopted his typical proud, casual strut, and began inching along one of the support ropes while gripping the handrail at chest height—and belying his earlier trepidation and uncertainty, he placed one foot in front of the other with ease and balance, as if he did this sort of thing every day. Viper, having slithered up next to the nearest stone pillar of the bridge, could still scent Tai Lung's nervousness...and the fact he managed to conceal it so well behind his bravado and confidence made the serpent admire him anew.
Several minutes after he'd started his trek through the skies, Tigress sauntered out onto the other support, mirroring Tai Lung's hold upon the guiding handrail—an attitude most unlike her. Whether she was trying once again to prove herself better than the snow leopard, or if his presence simply brought out the worst in her, Viper couldn't tell. But she did exchange a look with Monkey...who, despite his own continued dislike for Tai Lung, seemed almost as worried for their leader as she did. As they well knew from the ex-convict's encounter with the Dragon Warrior, and from many sparring and training sessions in the kwoon, overconfidence and cockiness were a surefire way to get you into trouble...
Yet when it did strike, it wasn't Tigress who was the victim.
It happened when the pair of felines were nearly at the center, where the rolled-up boards waited to be pried and hurled apart. Tai Lung was only a couple feet away, and Tigress lagged behind him by another yard or two, when out of nowhere the wind began to whine, rushing through the mountain crevasses as it picked up speed and force. From the west, a frigid blast burst from between the nearest peaks, its progress made visible by the unexpected roiling and churning of the fog, whipping away to reveal the sheer, jagged faces of the sugarloaves, seamed and pockmarked like an oldster's lined brow.
More and more of the mountains were exposed as the wind came closer, its howl rising steadily in loudness and pitch until Viper could barely stand it—she could only imagine how it sounded to the felines. Below, the cracked and spiky sides of the ravine stood stark and clear, and a thousand feet beyond that, looking so small it seemed to be a slender blue ribbon winding through the forested chasm, was the river. Viper suffered a brief siege of vertigo.
Then the wind rose to a shriek as it finally reached the unfinished span, and the serpent snapped out of her fear as she screamed herself into the wind, hoping it reached the other side. "Mantis! Secure the lines!" As Monkey also followed her orders, Viper wrapped her coils as tightly as she could around the remaining ropes, drawing them to a perfect horizontal. "Everyone, hold on!"
Each of the Five did as she commanded, even Tigress—dropping down to a half-crouch as she clung to her pair of ropes with her hands as well as her feet. But Tai Lung, the farthest out and right in the middle of the gale, could not hear her. Nevertheless, he felt the stretching and bouncing of the ropes as they were drawn in place, and his sharp ears picked up the high whine and the changing in air pressure as the wind approached. He turned...stared in blank shock for a moment or two as the mist raced ahead of the maelstrom as if reaching out with clutching white fingers to seize him...and then immediately ducked low as Tigress had to grasp the ropes.
A moment too late. The wind washed over him, buffeting his much larger, bulkier body and making his fur ripple and billow up wildly—and then with a yowl he lost his balance, and his hold on the handrail, and flipped backwards and sideways, switching positions until he hung upside-down by all four paws from the bottom of the span's rope. A few more moments he clung desperately to his perch as the wind continued to rush over him, making him sway back and forth like a kite while his tail lashed furiously. Then, with another strangled cry, his claws tore free and, limbs flailing, he fell straight down into the fog.
Luckily, Viper didn't even have to call out, for the other master across the bridge had seen what was occurring, and launched into action even before Tai Lung lost his hold. Out of the clouds, a dark silhouette appeared with flapping wings, and then Crane streaked downward after the snow leopard.
Minutes passed, as the roaring wind finally died down and the feline vanished into the swirling mists, followed by the avian, descending deeper into the gorge until neither could be seen, only the shifting clouds...and then something moved, something large, awkward, and strangely shaped as it rose upwards out of the Devil's Mouth toward the bridge. Viper held her breath.
Gasping and panting, Crane hove into view, chest burning and wings flapping vigorously as he clutched Tai Lung with both feet, gripping him so hard the talons had dug into his shoulders deeply enough to draw blood. But despite the pained expression on the snow leopard's face, he didn't complain—in fact he looked extraordinarily relieved, and an emotion Viper never expected to see there...grateful.
Just before the bird would have lost his hold, or plummeted back into the ravine with his burden, they reached the rope and Tai Lung leaped, latching onto it with a death-grip from all four paws. Crane landed wearily beside him, taking off his straw hat to fan himself tiredly, while the spotted feline waited until he was certain the wind had passed before finally releasing his hold and rising back to his full height.
Surprisingly, as Viper watched from the cliff edge, she saw Tigress looked rather worried, even a bit distraught, as she rose as well—could she have actually been concerned for Tai Lung? Afraid she was next? Or disturbed at what Shifu would say if he learned she'd allowed harm to come to his son?
"Th-thank you..." Tai Lung gasped at last, wincing as he rolled his shoulders again, making crimson fluid well up from the wounds. "That was...rather terrifying. I owe you one."
"Don't mention it," Crane replied. "Ever." But unlike when he'd said these words to Po, his tone was not flat or bitter, but genuinely humble and pleased. And with that, he slowly flew back to the other side of the bridge.
After another minute or so of panting and shuddering, the snow leopard cracked his neck and declared he was ready to continue—something which seemed to startle Tigress, as his recovery time was remarkable. But she certainly didn't object to getting on with things, since there was no telling when another wind might come up...and with Crane exhausted from carrying the hulking Tai Lung, he would likely not be able to effect a rescue a second time.
So together, the two felines proceeded the rest of the way along the ropes until they reached the bridge slats. There, each of them took up an identical pose but facing in opposite directions—the snow leopard aiming south, the tiger north. For several more long moments, there was silence, as Tigress and Tai Lung centered themselves, paws clasped before their chests and eyes closed while they drew deeply upon their chi, redirecting it into the air around them. Then, in the same motion, and with a synchronized kiai, both thrust forward with a two-palm strike.
Instantly two winds, just as powerful as the one which had toppled Tai Lung off the bridge, blew below the handrails with a thunderous clap of sound. Just as planned, the boards responded, wrenching apart and racing along the lower ropes like barges behind a supply boat, sharp reports sounding as wood pulled apart and bumped together—reminding Viper vaguely of the time she'd been in a bamboo forest during a windstorm. Banging and clattering, the spans lengthened and spread out until finally, as the twin gales reached the cliffs and funneled between the stone gateways, the last boards fell into place.
Slowly, with solemnity but also weariness—for it took much more energy to do what they had done than to, say, blow out a bank of candles—Tigress and Tai Lung lowered their arms and stepped back from the forward stances they'd adopted (one leg extended behind them, the other bent in front). Then, oddly, they rose and, back to back, bowed formally to what looked like nothing. After a moment, Viper realized they were honoring the wind itself—or perhaps Tai-Yi.
In an almost coordinated dance of smooth, supple movements, the felines darted and twisted along the Thread of Hope, bringing their feet down with regular, forceful stomps to flatten any stray boards and ensure each fitted perfectly into its neighbor. Then, finishing with one final flourish, they stopped at opposite ends of the bridge, the ex-convict turning back to cross and meet his fellow master at the northern gateway.
There, standing upon the same grassy plateau where he had paralyzed the Five with his nerve strike, they paused, facing each other in silence, save for the creaking boards and ropes behind them, as each sized the other up. Tai Lung quirked a brow, barely restraining a somewhat smug grin, while Tigress's lips twitched in what Viper swore was the ghost of a smile.
Then she crossed her arms over her chest and sniffed. "Adequate, I suppose. Let's get back to the Jade Palace, shall we?"
Tai Lung's face fell, the expression of pride in a job well done disappearing as if chalk erased from a slate board. Then he snarled viciously and wheeled about, glaring out across the Cliffs of the Great Awakening while his tail lashed behind him and his paws adopted a white-knuckled grip on his biceps.
But as Mantis and Crane appeared from the far side of the bridge, and Tigress smirked and began a jaunty pace back the way they'd come, Viper could have sworn she saw the striped feline glance back over her shoulder...eye the snow leopard's backside...and then turn away again with a definite blush to her cheeks.
Viper peered from Tigress to Tai Lung...noticed the look of longing mingled with frustration on the snow leopard's blocky countenance...and began thinking furiously. And as Monkey chortled annoyingly behind her, the truth finally dawned on her.
Oh. Oh my! It can't be...he couldn't...and she wouldn't...but that would explain so much!
Grinning from ear to ear, until she swore the ends of her mouth touched the flowers atop her head, the serpent hummed thoughtfully to herself as she slithered down the trail with the others. Already all manner of plans and speculations were forming in her head...yes, this would take careful managing. She looked at Tai Lung, so morose and dejected as he trudged along behind her he didn't even notice her expression.
She knew how she was going to get the snow leopard accepted by Tigress. And the best part was, just how much fun she'd have doing it...
(A/N: Now it seems Tai Lung has an ally in his conquest—or does he? And even if he does, will he take advantage of it—or even particularly enjoy her methods? You'll have to wait and see... I'm sure many of you were wondering if what happened in Tai Lung's cell was ever going to be brought up again, or what the consequences would be. Now you know. Sorry if Tigress is still seeming like a bitch, but I promise in the next chapter you'll find out why she's acting this way. In the meantime, I am pleased to make my very first reference to a lost place from the Art of Kung Fu Panda—the Dragon Stealing Heaven's Tear. Took a bit of research to find out where in China it might have been, but it looked like an awesome place. I also hope the way I described the raising of the bridge wasn't too confusing...these things often seem more clear in my head. Before anyone asks, yes what Tigress and Tai Lung did is supposed to be a direct reference to what we saw Shifu do to Oogway's candles.
Also, a small poll here: in an upcoming chapter I intend to go into a bit more detail about one of the heroic tales of Tai Lung Po mentioned in Chapter 2, so I wanted to ask which one you preferred to see. The fox army from Japan, the defense of the sacred mountain from the fire demons, or the saving of the pleasure boat? I will say I don't intend to fully describe the whole encounter, since at least two of those would be extremely complex and detailed and take away from the main story. But if you wish it, I'll do my best with any of them. Please vote in your reviews. R/R!)