He looked at the fallen tiger, expressionless. Chéng called out to his brother. "Hēi? Are you alright?"
Hearing no response, the striped cat ran to his brother's side. He kneeled down, checking for a breath, and looked toward Tai with horror. Chéng began to slur his words as he spoke. "Tai, he's...he's not...b-breathing. H-help me, p-please."
The other tiger crumpled to the ground near his fallen sibling, and only then did Tai Lung make his way to them.
Tai snapped awake to find Monkey staring nervously from inside the cell. He yelped. "Master Monkey, for the love of the gods, say something and wake me up instead of watching me sleep. Brings back bad memories."
Monkey raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? What sort of memories?"
The spotted cat wiped the sleep out of his eyes, ignoring the question. "Is it morning?"
He received a look of irritation, but Monkey answered. "It is. You were moaning in your sleep."
"Was I? Well, figures, I suppose. Call it a...recurring nightmare."
He studied the primate, now that he was in only a moderate stupor. I know that face, but not on him.
"You look incredibly familiar, Master Monkey, and not from the two times we met. Do you have older siblings, important parents?"
Monkey hesitated for the briefest moment, and Tai Lung didn't give him a chance to recover. His eyes snapped open, now fully awake, when the realization hit him.
"Holy hell, you have a brother, don't you?"
Monkey avoided his oddly excited look. "I don't know what you're talking about, Tai Lung."
He only laughed, bordering on hysterics. "Oh gods, this is fantastic! Master Monkey of the
Jade Palace, member of the famed Furious Five. And his brother? The also famed Kàn Bùjiàn De Shôu! The Invisible Hand himself, master thief known all across the country! Now how in the depths of hell does that happen?"
Monkey appeared to be fuming, his teeth clenched as well as his fists. "I am not my brother. How the hell did you even piece that together?"
Tai Lung's grin never faded as he spoke. "I was part of the group that tracked him down, all those years ago. I'll never forget that face, and you share it. Is that why you took up the art?" His smile shifted to one void of humor, and his voice picked up a serious yet sarcastic tone as he spoke. "To...drive away the darkness in your branch of the family tree?"
Monkey was trapped by a man chained to the wall. No, no it is not. I wasn't much better than my brother. Street thief for years, until Oogway brought me to the Palace. Not that you need to know any of that. "More or less. I have a few questions to ask, if it's all the same to you."
Yeah, this one will be far easier. As long as he doesn't leave as quickly as Master Viper did.
"Oh, I suppose. Did Master Viper make it back safely last night? She said she'd be back in a minute, and never returned."
"Viper is fine. Were you responsible for the attacks on the coastal towns over the past few weeks?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Master Monkey, just how stupid do you think I am? You didn't know that I existed for two years, do you honestly think that I was raiding villages all that time? I wouldn't have stayed hidden for a month if I was."
"Then what were you doing in the area? You were rather close to the Valley for a criminal of your fame."
Because I'm quite certain that that damned hammer hit something important in my head nine years ago. He shrugged. "I met with a handful of...associates. They insisted on the location, in spite of my protests. We stopped to purchase supplies when you three stumbled into me."
Monkey grew even more alert following his response. "What sort of associates?"
Tai Lung gave a glare, studying the warrior in front of him. "None of your concern. Is that all, or were there other items on Shifu's questionnaire?"
Monkey was quick to answer, and was quieted even quicker. "Shifu didn't give us-"
"Oh save it, none of these questions are original. Which is a bit disappointing, I might add."
"And why is that?"
The snow leopard's smile was predatory. "You learn so much more about a man from conversation."
Monkey shifted, growing less comfortable by the moment. "How did you survive the Wuxi Finger Hold?"
Tai Lung's smile appeared more genuine than before as he answered. "Every technique can be beaten, and I have a feeling that you don't know half of the techniques. How could you possibly understand how the Hold was beaten?"
The primate was growing irritated. "That doesn't answer the question, Tai Lung."
He earned a bored look from the feline. "Nor will anything you're likely to get out of me."
"We'll circle back. Do you feel that what you did all those years ago to the people of the Valley, as well as to your masters was right?"
He shook his head, and noticing Monkey's surprised look, explained. "I stopped classifying actions as right or wrong long before that day."
"Why the change?"
"I'll give you an example, though I'm afraid it's not the original reason. On my ship, I brought in men that would have no trouble with crime. The thing is that they weren't all career criminals. Some just needed a way out. I noticed something a couple of months in. A few of the men were refusing to spend a coin, others taking reduced rations at each meal. I asked them about it one day. I learned that most had families on land, and they sent every coin they made and the food they ate home. They supported their families by stealing before, and they continued to do so after they joined me. Surely you understand, with a brother that did the same thing, correct?"
Monkey was torn concerning his response. Yeah, my brother did something similar. And when he was caught, so did I...still, that isn't a reason to accept his ideology. "You said you changed your thoughts on right and wrong. What was the change?"
Tai Lung made a point to stare at Monkey with as much intensity as he could manage. "Necessary and unnecessary. To answer the original question, yes, what I did was...necessary."
The two stood in silence for a moment before Monkey continued slowly. "Why did you turn yourself in, Tai Lung?"
He took a deep breath before responding. "I've come to die at home."
Monkey recoiled slightly in surprise. "You've what?"
The snow leopard nodded. "I've had a long run, Master Monkey. Given, most of it was wasted, but it's time for me to leave this world. If I'm going to go, which I would anyway now that I've been found even if I ran, than I'd rather have it be here than in a place I've never known."
His ears perked up at the sound of a door opening. He sighed. "But, that's enough for the moment. Someone's here."
As if on cue, Viper slid into the room. She looked up at Monkey. "Shifu asked me to relieve you, if it's a good time."
Monkey glanced at Tai Lung before nodding. "Sure, I don't think there's much more for us to discuss. Good luck."
He left the cell and Tai Lung smiled warmly. "Hello again, Master Viper. You had me a bit worried last night. I trust you're feeling better?"
She returned the smile. "Thank you, and yes, I'm fine. I was just a bit surprised to hear your answer as to what you were doing here."
He shrugged. "Most only see me as one sided. There's always more to the story. Have you come to continue our little chat?"
"If it's alright with you."
"Sure, sure. You're by far the most...pleasant to talk to of the four I've seen so far." Second, actually, but I see no need to hurt Tigress' chances of keeping face.
Viper had to think for a moment before remembering Tigress and Crane on his ship. "Thank you. Now, what were you doing near the Valley in the last few weeks?"
He shook his head, nearly disgusted. "One of my men managed to lose our map of the area. I was sailing blind, and by the time I realized where we were, the other three were all but upon me."
"You're saying that you did not raid those villages on the coast?"
"You're all going to ask all of these questions, aren't you? No, I did not attack those towns."
She laughed slightly, and continued when she saw Tai Lung's confusion. "I have to ask, how did you manage to stay hidden for the past two years? We never had a clue."
He shrugged again. "I traveled south for a time, met up with a few old friends and bought the ship. Where is it, by the way?"
"The ship?"
He nodded.
"It came in this morning, it's down at the docks."
He laughed softly. "That's good to hear. I was a bit concerned that it would sink on the way over." Noting her look of perplexion, he elaborated. "We sailed into a stone that put a hole in the hull. When you caught up to me, we were beached to make repairs."
Viper nodded slowly, and continued. "I need to know how you survived the Wuxi Finger Hold."
Tai Lung sighed with exasperation. This is growing tedious. Now come the challenging bits. "Master Viper, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The Wuxi Finger Hold doesn't exist."
She recoiled in surprise as her suspicion of the snow leopard rose back from the odd moment of trust she'd felt the night before. "It doesn't exist. That sounds a bit odd coming from someone who has seen it used firsthand."
He shook his head. "I don't know what the hell that panda used on me, but the Wuxi Finger Hold is a scare tactic that masters use on their students. Shifu still hasn't told you all that? Some with as much experience as you five have students of their own." Of course, seeing that he's quite literally orchestrating your deaths, it shouldn't come as a shock.
Viper snapped him out of his thoughts. "You'll forgive me if I have a difficult time believing that. I have one more question for you."
"And that would be?"
"Do you ever regret the things you did all those years ago?"
Tai Lung raised an eyebrow. "I'll need you to specify what those 'things' are before I can
answer that."
She met his oddly comfortable gaze. "Destroying the Valley of Peace, killing innocent people, and returning here to do the same thing two years ago."
He sighed. "I'll just go in order. My so called 'destruction' of the Valley has been greatly exaggerated over the years. For one thing, no one died that day. My destruction was confined to a couple of...unfortunately placed buildings that fell victim to my drunken...stumbling. As far as returning here, I'll ask you a couple of questions. What do you know about solitary confinement?"
"Hold on. You're saying that you're rampage consisted only of you stumbling into a couple of buildings?"
The feline grimaced. "Erm...there may have been a lantern knocked over that lit a fire spreading farther than I mentioned. But, I don't claim control of the flame. Other than that, yes, that's the truth."
"What makes you think that I'll believe that you're being honest and that Master Shifu has lied all these years?"
His face fell. "Should have known that you heard the story from my dear father. I suppose whether to believe a word that I say is your choice to make. I will, however, ask you this. Who has more to gain from lying to you? If I am deceiving you, I'm still stuck here at the end of the day. Now Shifu? He's surrounded by the equivalent of an army that takes every word out of his mouth for gold. Now, I still owe you an answer, and to reach it, I'll need a couple from you. What do you know of solitary confinement and sensory deprivation?"
She almost missed the question as she considered his words. She managed to snap back into reality. "Solitary confinement is usually used to punish prisoners by removing them from any interactions outside of their guards. I don't know very much about sensory deprivation, only that some use it to channel their chi."
He nodded with approval. "And of its effects on the prisoner?"
"I haven't heard of the effects that the practices have."
"Not surprising. Allow me to...enlighten you. Solitary is used to punish prisoners, but most do not remain there for longer than two or three months, in order to prevent permanent effects. Sensory deprivation is a nasty piece of work. It generally includes removing the ability to see or hear for a given period of time. As you say, some use it to channel their energy, but never longer than for a single day, for the same reason.
"If these limits are crossed, one often experiences hallucinations, panic attacks, obsession with an idea or concept, paranoia, poor impulse control, and the complete inability to think rationally. Now, I'm not telling you this to gain pity. I committed crimes, and I was punished for doing so. However, I feel that it is important for you to understand as well as possible why I came back.
"These effects begin to take place after three weeks in solitary confinement, or a couple of days in sensory deprivation. I spent twenty years in solitary. If that wasn't enjoyable enough, I spent a great deal of time going through sensory deprivation. For five years, beginning my first day in Chorh-Gom Prison, I was blindfolded, as well as deafened with cloth under the blindfold positioned over my ears."
Viper listened in horror as he spoke of his experience, considering the information that he had provided just moments before. No damn wonder he was insane when he broke out. He never stopped speaking, and she couldn't think of a word to respond with.
"The goal, I've come to believe, was to destroy my mind altogether. Obliterate any desire to escape the Anvil's grasp. I'll never understand how I hung on all that time, but I was far from unaffected. There was an odd state of existence that I discovered during that time. Nowhere near alive, but not quite dead either.
"When I did finally escape, two of the symptoms that I listed before caused my return. Obsession with the Dragon Scroll, and the complete inability to think about what the hell I was doing. Eventually, I began to recover, and I saw what I had become. I knew then that I would have to pay for all that I'd done, before and after that prison."
He gave a dry smile. "And that concludes my tale of hell on earth."
Viper remained speechless for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she managed to find a few words. "I'm sorry, Tai Lung. I'm sorry for your pain. Thank you for sharing it, I needed to hear...I needed some sort of assurance that you've been sincere."
He nodded. "I should thank you. I don't...really talk about those years often. Can I ask you a favor, though?"
"Of course."
"Please don't tell anyone about this. Not everyone will see the truth in it as you have."
She hesitated before answering. That's true enough. Everything he's said so far seems possible if nothing else. I still need to make sure of a few things, but until then, what harm could it do? "Sure, Tai Lung. Our little secret, and one that I won't forget."
He smiled after she left the cell. Two down, three to go. Let's just hope they do their jobs when the time comes.
