A/N: I love this story! Seriously, that's why I keep updating! I just can't stop writing! My fingers are on fire! So here is the next chapter! And yes, I will update "Long Lost, Long Hidden" soon.

By the way, I posted a new story called "Stripes of a Tiger". Remember to check it out.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda.

Spread Your Wings, Sleeping Beauty

"My dear Fenghuang,

I believe that you now are safely home and have found my little… Should we say 'surprise'? I am truly sorry that I have to do it this way, but you should know, Fenghuang, that I want power.

And you have the power I need.

Come to my palace and we'll discuss what needs to be discussed. Fear not; your daughter will not be harmed, but she'll stay with me until a fair deal has been made.

Please, Fenghuang; we both know that this can turn out on a great way for us both.

-Ju-long"

Fenghuang dropped the paper and it fell slowly to the ground. For a moment the owl stared into nothing, but then the purple eyes narrowed.

Hate and anger could be seen.

How dared he? How dared he?! Her daughter? He had the courage to touch her daughter?!

She was going to kill him! She would rip him into little pieces of fur and then she would set fire to the rest that would be of him!

Letting out an angry scream, the owl left the room. Flying back did not seem as a problem now when she knew that her daughter was out there, in the hands of a man that would not hesitate with killing her.

Why had she been stupid enough to let her daughter be alone?

Tigress was vulnerable, even though some would doubt it. But she had grown up with Fenghuang and she had been raised to do what her mother said. She had never truly been alone…

Fenghuang knew that separating herself and her daughter would be a threat to Tigress. The tiger would not know what to do; she would go into panic. She would not think clearly…

Knowing that she had to get to Ju-long as soon as possible, Fenghuang left the palace to disappear into the black sky.

Tigress looked around nervously when they reached the fortress. The mountain cat was still walking beside her; more quiet than she liked.

"Is it here?" she asked, just to be sure. Why had she never heard of it before now?

"Yes," he answered shortly.

And surely enough; Tigress could soon she the façade of Ju-long's home as the rest of it went into a mountain. Numerous guards were at the front gate, but they all stepped aside then they came near.

"How many are you?" she asked the still un-named mountain cat.

He grinned. "Not too few."

"And why are you a part of it?"

He turned to look at her. "The money. Simple as that. And living here is better than being out in the cold."

Tigress shrugged. "I guess so. And my mother… Do you know her?"

"I have had the chance to meet her, yes. But not too personal; I was just there as a guard when she visited Ju-long."

"Oh…"

"She talked a lot about you."

Tigress looked up. "She did?"

He nodded. "Ju-long really wants to meet you now."

"I'll admit; I don't know a lot about him. My mother would not tell me anything until the deals were set," Tigress said slowly, thinking about her talk with Fenghuang.

How mad would the owl be when she found out that she was here? And how was it again that she knew this Ju-long? Tigress had never heard his name before.

Why was he a secret too?

They walked through the hallways, and Tigress noticed how everybody was staring at her. She glared back for some seconds, but then decided to stare at the floor instead. She did not want to make any problems.

The memory of her uncle's death was still painfully clear to her. Tigress closed her eyes in sorrow as she suddenly felt like she was back at the mountain.

She could not help but blame herself.

If she just had been quicker… Then her uncle would not be dead. It was all her fault.

What would her mother say when she found out? How mad would she be? How disappointed?

Tigress knew that Fenghuang and Yun-qi had been friends in many years. Many, many years. How was the owl going to react when she found out that her dear friend was dead?

Would her mother blame her too?

Tigress' ears lay flat against her head at the thought.

She already missed her uncle. But right now she had to think of what she was going to do next. If her mother trusted this Ju-long… Then maybe she should too.

After all he had been the one to send out his guards so she could be safe. But they had been too slow to save her uncle…

She had been too slow too…

The doors in front of her opened, and she pulled herself out of her thoughts. "Is he here?" she asked the big cat beside her.

"He'll be soon," the mountain cat promised. "He just needs to take care of some things; then he will meet you here."

He backed away, leaving Tigress alone in the big room. There was not much light and she looked around to see if anything was hiding from her.

But she was alone. The room was only filled with some chairs and tables, but no persons. It was only her.

Tigress chose one of the chairs and sat down in it. She was just so tired. She had just lost her uncle and now she was in this strange place.

She just hoped that her mother would come soon.

But maybe her mother had not even arrived yet. Then she would have to stay here overnight; something she just did not want to.

Finally the door became opened, and a person entered the room. Tigress rose from her chair and bowed; when she looked up she was surprised to see a wolverine standing in front of her.

"Master Ju-long?" she asked slowly. For some reason she had imagined him… Taller.

He nodded and smiled to her. "What a pleasant surprise to finally meet you, Tigress. Though, I am sorry for the reason why you are here."

Tigress' eyes became full of sorrow again as she remembered her uncle and what had happened to him. Ju-long turned around to sit down in a chair in front of her.

Following his example, Tigress did the same and sat back down. "You…" she began. "I was told that you would help me."

He nodded. "Your mother is a friend of mine."

"You were making deals?" Tigress said, raising an eyebrow. "How? And what kind?"

"Your mother knows that you two cannot take care of the Jade Palace on your own. It is only a matter of time before your prisoners will try and break out, and the other masters are already making plans of how to defeat you."

"She wanted guards…"

Ju-long smiled to her. "Exactly. And I have more guards than I need. We were talking about how we could work together."

"You… Does she know that I am here?" Tigress suddenly asked. "One of your guards said that you would send her a message."

"I already have," he said. "Though, I can send her another one; I wrote to her that I would try and make you stay with me until you arrived. It was only some hour ago that my messenger left. We should tell her that you are actually here."

Tigress nodded, agreeing with him. The wolverine clapped with his hands, and soon a servant came, holding a tray where a new scroll was lying.

Ju-long held out the scroll towards her. "Do you want to write or should I?"

"I can do it," Tigress answered quickly. She immediately started to write, though, she was having problems explaining it all. Her uncle's death… Her 'escape' from the Jade Palace…

"How did you meet my mother?" she asked, while keeping her eyes on the paper.

Ju-long sighed. "We heard about each other many years ago. Though, it was only about a month ago that she contacted me. I remembered her as 'the owl in the cave'. We talked about the problems and agreed to find a solution."

"I see," Tigress said slowly as she tried to pick the right words to write down.

"She has told me a lot about you," Ju-long said while leaning back in his chair. He brushed some invisible dust of his green and golden robe. "She is very proud."

Tigress looked up from the scroll. "She is?" she asked breathlessly. Even though her mother already had told her that, it was something different when a stranger told her it.

He nodded. "And I am impressed too."

Tigress murmured a happy sound and turned her glance back at the paper. And as she tried to write a proper message to her mother, she suddenly realized something important.

"Do yours scrolls already look like this?" she asked holding it up. It was, like a lot of other things she had seen from here, green with a golden pattern.

Ju-long chuckled. "I see you have figured out my favorite colors. But yes; most of my things are having that pattern. My messages too. Why?"

"It's just… I have seen it before."

"Well, I believe your mother must have a lot of them at the palace. I have sent her a lot of messages lately," the wolverine told her.

But Tigress shook her head. "No…" she said. "It wasn't her. Do you… Do you know Master Tiger?"

"From the former Furious Five?" he asked her and she nodded. He tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"

Tigress glared at him. "Because I saw him holding one of your messages. Though, he said it was from his family. I now believe he was lying."

Ju-long sighed. "That is a long story." He suddenly clapped again, making Tigress flinch by the sound. Another servant came in, too holding a tray, though this one with filled with two cups. The wolverine smiled to her. "Do you want some tea while I'll tell you it all?"

Tigress nodded; it had been a long day. She received a cup and took a sip.

"You see," Ju-long began. "I was contacted by Master Tiger when he needed my help. And, just like your mother, we needed to discuss a lot before the deals were made. Unfortunately for him, you… Well, the accident happened before his plans were fully made."

"Plans?" Tigress asked. Why had Master Tiger, the good but annoying master, contacted a person like Ju-long?

"He, just like me actually, liked power. And when he felt like he had been tricked… Well, he felt like somebody had taken what was truly his. So, he just wanted it back."

"He was very angry…" Tigress muttered. "But what was it that he wanted?"

Ju-long smiled to her. "The Jade Palace, of course. He was very bitter when he told about how he had not become the Dragon Warrior; and how he rightfully was it."

"I thought he followed his master's orders…"

"Well, I can tell you, Tigress, that Master Tiger never forgave Shifu for letting the panda become the Dragon Warrior."

Tigress became silent; this was just too much. Had Tiger really been planning taking over the Jade Palace? Just like she and her mother had done?

It was very weird what could be hiding inside a person.

But would he really have done it? His own master…? Though, she kind of understood his feelings; she had too wanted the Dragon Warrior title.

And then she realized that Tiger had been just exactly like Tai Lung.

She drank the rest of her tea, hoping that it would take away her headache. Ju-long was watching her from his chair. "Have you finished your letter?" he asked her.

Tigress suddenly remembered the message to her mother, but her whole vision started to tilt when she looked down to try and spot it. In a second, Ju-long had gripped the scroll, holding it out in front of himself while reading it.

"Maybe I should finish it," he said, glancing at her. "You look really tired."

Tigress knew he was right. It felt like a pillow had been wrapped around her brain. Her thoughts were fuzzy and her eyes kept failing her. She was strangely dizzy and she was gasping after air.

But she had realized one thing.

This was not just being tired.

"The tea," she muttered but she was not sure if Ju-long could hear her. Tigress felt herself falling from the chair, landing on the floor on her knees.

She could barely see Yu-long still sitting in his chair, watching her with an amused smile.

"You really should rest," the wolverine said. "When you wake up I am sure your dear mother will be here."

He watched as Tigress finally closed her eyes and fell completely to the floor. Ju-long then walked closer, looking down to take a better look on his new prisoner. With his right foot, he lifted up her chin, just to be sure.

But the tiger was sleeping deeply; just as he had planned.

Just a bit of his little 'tea' four times a day, and she would be the new Sleeping Beauty.

Though, Fenghuang would not be pleased. But when had he ever seen the owl truly happy?

He wanted the Jade Palace. She had it.

And, the only thing the owl loved more than her new power was, of course, her own daughter.

The whole thing was actually pretty simple.

Now he just wished that she would see it in that way too. That would help a lot. He did not want to make enemies; he just wanted to make the best deals.

And this was the way of doing it.

No matter how strong Fenghuang seemed to be, he could control her by doing this. The steel hard owl had grown soft; all because of a little cub.

Ju-long chuckled as he once again reminded himself of never having children. It would just destroy him.

Exactly like it had done with Fenghuang.

A shame, truly. She was indeed a skillful woman; a mighty warrior. Maybe they could have worked together…

But she was too stubborn.

Besides; now he had the chance to get the Jade Palace. Finally, China would hear who he was.

And he would have the power.

Funny how he could get all that by only capturing one little tiger.

But he knew he would face Fenghuang's anger. She would soon know that he had killed her little… Friend.

Ju-long was not looking forward to that.

Two guards came in and grabbed the unconscious tiger by the arms; they knew exactly what to do. He had planned it all perfectly.

The wolverine watched as they took the tiger out of the room.

Figuring out that Fenghuang would be here as soon as she could, Ju-long too left the room.

He would need some more guards.

A/N: And here it is! Hope you liked it!

Remember to check out my new story 'Stripes of a Tiger'!

Thank you so much for the many reviews, guys! It truly meant a lot! So, please; continue doing that; I love to hear your thoughts!