Chapter Sixteen- No, It's Not Over

Nothing happened.

Shifu sighed and patted Siren's hand encouragingly. Junjie looked away. Fenghuang hung her head. Siren only sat and waited.

Then, Chao moaned. Everyone stared with wide eyes as Chao coughed violently.

"Chao?" Junjie gently shook him. "Chao, say something."

Chao moaned again. "Ouch….." he muttered.

Those present couldn't help but laugh. Leave it Chao to say something like that. Shifu helped Chao sit up as he rubbed his head.

"I have the worst headache." Chao muttered disdainfully. His eyes suddenly widened when he saw Siren, her eyes still glowing. Chao suddenly got to his knees and pulled his daughter into a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Siren buried her head in Chao's shoulder. "I'm fine, Dad." She pulled away from him. "And I'm sorry for what's happened."

"None of this is your fault." Chao assured. "Everything will be fine."

"I know." Siren nodded. She looked up through the hole in the ceiling. Jiao-long was still in his dragon form, smiling wickedly as the Jade Palace and Rebel Armies began retreating.

Chao noticed the dragon. "Who is that?"

"The scaly freak that almost took you from me." Siren growled. She stood and walked to the center of the room. She prepared herself to jump, but Chao suddenly grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm going to stop him." Siren said calmly. "I have to."

"I'm not losing you again." Chao said firmly. "Not again."

"Now is not the time!" Siren snapped. "I won't let him take away another life."

"You could get killed!" Chao cried desperately.

Siren looked down sympathetically. "Dad, let go. I promise I'll be fine." Chao tightened his grip. But when he heard Jiao-long's roar, he knew she was right; Siren was their only hope. As much as he hated to do it, he had to let Siren fulfill her destiny. No matter how dangerous it may seem.

Chao let go.

Siren leaped into the air, morphing into a pure white Chinese dragon and flying into the sky. At the last minute, Junjie suddenly grabbed her tail and was pulled into the air with her. Before anyone could grab him, Siren had flown off and landed on her old tower, roaring menacingly at Jiao-long. Shifu watched as Junjie was suddenly whipped into Siren's bedroom window.

Jiao-long snarled at Siren. Siren flew up high and dive bombed the black dragon. Jiao-long intercepted her. As they clashed, the sound of thunder rang out.

Tigress whipped around and stared. She called for the army to stop. "That white one is on our side! We can't abandon it!" She gave a ferocious roar and ran on all fours, back into battle. The rest of the army, quick to regain their spirits, charged after her. Taotie noticed that Jiao-long's metal machine had stopped working. Without Siren, the machine was powerless. Taotie smirked and unleashed his fury upon the metal machine.

Chao, Fenghuang, and Shifu were tossed back and forth as the machine was hit.

"We have to get out of here!" Fenghuang cried out. She picked up Chao in her talons and reached for Shifu, but he had disappeared. Fenghuang flew up and out of the machine as it suddenly tipped over. Chao ran back and searched for Shifu, but only found his jian.

"Where is he?" Chao demanded.

Fenghuang looked around, but the red panda couldn't be seen amongst the chaos. What she didn't know was that Shifu had jumped out of the machine when he saw Junjie be thrown into Siren's room. He was halfway there, running up the stairs as fast as he could. He finally reached the door and shoved it open. Junjie was already there, looking around the room.

"What are you doing?" Shifu asked.

"Looking for Siren's staff." Junjie said. "She'll need it."

Shifu looked and found a black pole sticking from under Siren's bed. He pulled it out and held out the Bo for Junjie to see.

"Now what?" Shifu asked.

"We go help Siren." Junjie said. "She needs us."

"Junjie, remember what the prophecy said?" Shifu reminded him. "When Siren's battle is over, then it's our turn. Her skills are being tested, not ours." Junjie looked down, frowning. "I know you care very much for her. I do too. So let's be smart about this." Junjie looked up and nodded. The two of them ran to the window and looked out. They could see Siren and Jiao-long still fighting in the sky. Every time they rammed into each other, thunder would ring out, even though the skies were clear. However, dark clouds began to gather.

"How do we get to them?" Shifu turned and asked Junjie. At least, where Junjie was. Shifu looked up and saw the fox was climbing up the tower. Shifu rolled his eyes and climbed after him. They reached the top and had to hold on to avoid falling.

"Ok, now what?" Shifu asked.

Junjie gave him a look. "No need to be smug. I know what I'm doing."

"Sure you do." Shifu rolled his eyes.

Junjie didn't seem to hear. He was watching Siren and Jiao-long fight. After a while, Siren's dragon tail suddenly swung down. Junjie reached out and grabbed it with one hand and took Siren's staff in the other. Shifu had to hold on tight as he was swiftly pulled off his feet. He reminded himself not to look down as he and Junjie went higher into the air.

"Are you insane?" Shifu shouted. Junjie only laughed. Shifu took a hold of Siren's tail and held on tight. Junjie started climbing up the spines on Siren's back, all the way up to her head. Shifu followed. But Junjie was already at the top and on Siren's head. The next time Siren bit into Jiao-long's tail, Junjie ran across her muzzle and jumped, grabbing Jiao-long's spines and running up the black dragon's back. Once at the head, Junjie did something a little unorthodox: he bit Jiao-long's ear. Crazy, yes; at the same time, it got Jiao-long's attention. The dragon reared back in surprise and pain, snarling. He tried to swat the fox away, but Junjie only jumped and bit the dragon's other ear.

Down below, the Jade palace and Rebel Army were finally gaining the upper hand. Many of Jiao-long's men had fled at the sight of two large dragons fighting in the sky. The rest had to rely on their limited fighting abilities, as all their weapons were destroyed. The number of unconscious guards grew steadily until Tigress managed to take out the last guard with a fierce, double clawed strike. The armies looked around for any more enemies, but there were none to be seen. The two armies gave a tremendous cheer of victory. Jiao-long looked down and saw his army defeated. Snarling, he went towards the mountain, shifting in midair and landing on the top. Junjie tumbled and rolled, slamming into a tree. Jiao-long stood, his sword somehow appearing in his hands. Junjie stood ready.

"Prepare to die, rat." Jiao-long hissed.

Siren tried to find where Jiao-long had gone, but the dark colored Komodo dragon practically blended in with the rocks.

"Siren, land on the mountain!" Shifu called. "We'll find them faster on foot!" Siren nodded and dove down. She did a flip a morphed back to her human form. She and Shifu landed on the ground a little hard. Shifu tossed Siren her Bo as they ran off. Chao saw Siren disappear and started towards her, but he was held back by Fenghuang.

"Stay here!" She ordered. "All of you! I will go after Siren." She flew off as fast as she could.

Junjie jumped away to avoid Jiao-long's blade. It didn't really help that Jiao-long still had powers equal to Siren's. Rocks levitated from the ground and shot towards Junjie like bullets. Trees swung their branches around. A storm had brew, and lightning bolts rained down. Junjie jumped everywhere like some hyperactive frog, desperately trying to avoid being hit. Then, some vines sprouted from the ground, entangling Junjie's legs. Though he struggled, the vines continued to wrap around him like snakes. He suddenly found himself hanging from a tree by the vines with Jiao-long's sword to his neck.

The Komodo dragon smirked. "Any last words?"

Junjie only glared. Jiao-long shrugged and swung his sword back.

There was the sound of metal on wood.

Siren growled and kicked Jiao-long away. She glared at him with snow white irises. Jiao-long returned the glare, his irises blood red. Shifu stood by Siren to fight, but the human pushed him back.

"Stay out of this." She ordered. "This is my fight." She spun her staff around and charged for Jiao-long. The Komodo dragon held his sword in one hand and darted forward. The two met halfway, and the epic battle began. Shifu began to tug at the vines in an attempt to free Junjie from them.

"Can't you break these faster?" Junjie snapped.

"Oh shut up." Shifu growled.

Siren and Jiao-long continued their battle. No matter what was thrown at the other, the attack was blocked and retaliated. Jiao-long launched fire from his palms, but Siren absorbed the water from a nearby tree to block it, then froze the ice into shards and sent them flying. Ice clashed with metal as Jiao-long expertly deflected each shard. He telekinetically lifted a huge boulder and launched it towards the human. Siren shot her fist out and the boulder exploded into dust. She swept her foot across the ground and a whirlwind of the dust knocked Jiao-long into the mountain's wall. The reptile pushed off the wall and flew towards her, his sword out in front of him. Siren slammed her staff into the ground, sending up a small wall of rock. Jiao-long did a face plant and slumped to the ground. The rock wall went back into the ground, but Jiao-long had disappeared. Siren scanned her surroundings, but he was nowhere in sight. Sensing someone behind her, she spun around and found Jiao-long's sword to her chest. She knocked it aside and did a back flip, landing in a strong stance a ways away. Jiao-long raised his sword to the sky and extended his palm towards Siren. A bolt of lightning stuck his sword, went through his arm, and came out his palm straight for Siren.

There was a white flash of light. When it died down, Siren was on the ground. Her clothes were singed and her hair had been cut. Her face was smeared with dirt and soot. Her staff lay inches from her hand. She didn't seem to be breathing.

Jiao-long laughed cruelly. He turned to Shifu and Junjie, still tangled in the vines.

"So much for her." He gloated. "What made you think she could defeat me?"

Shifu stood ready to fight. "Even if she dies, I will defeat you."

Jiao-long shook his head. "You really are a pain, aren't you?" He lunged with his sword.

Unbeknownst to the rest, Siren was alive, barely breathing but still conscious. The sound of Shifu and Jiao-long's battle was like an echo underwater to her ears. Still, she did not move. All through her mind ran memories from her past; memories of kids teasing her because of how different she was. In the human realm, only one person stood up for her and became her friend. Everyone else saw her as a freak. They laughed at Siren during recess as she "talked to the trees"; when in reality she was only healing wounded birds or making flowers grow. The memories changed. She was with her abusive stepfather, constantly being yelled at and hurt. The punches from her memory felt so real.

Everything came in a flood of bad visions: getting bullied in the village; failing to perform a kung fu move correctly; not being able to defend herself from being mugged; Junjie getting stabbed; her father being killed; getting blasted by Jiao-long's final attack that made her so weak and helpless now.

I'm a failure. Siren thought. Why did I think I could do this? My friend, my family, will die. And it's all my fault. Hot tears came forth, but she swallowed them back. Dad, Shifu, everyone, I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

Siren….

Siren stirred slightly.

Siren…

Mom? Siren thought.

Siren….. Yes, it was her mother. Her mother's voice was echoing softly in her head.

Siren. Her mother said gently. You are not weak. You have amazing strength. Nothing can stop you. Feeling sorry for yourself won't save Shifu, Junjie, or China itself. Be strong, my little girl. Show that bag of scales what you can do.

Instantly, more memories came to Siren's mind: playing with her friend in the human world; finding her father; training under Oogway; moving to Ziben; all the fun things Chao did with her for her birthday; sparring with Junjie; visiting the Jade Palace and meeting Tigress; finally, being with her father on her sixteenth birthday. That was the last time she saw him before going to hunt down Jiao-long. It was also the day Chao had given her a special gift.

FLASHBACK

Siren opened the cloth and gasped lightly. Inside was a beautiful golden comb with a ceramic peach blossom on the end.

"It's so beautiful." Siren breathed.

Chao beamed proudly. "It belonged to your mother."

Siren looked up. "My mother?" Chao nodded. He took the comb, rolled Siren's hair in a bun, and stuck the comb into her hair to keep it in place.

"She wore it just like this all the time." Chao said. "It was her favorite."

Siren delicately touched the peach blossom. Then, she spun around and hugged Chao tight. Chao returned the hug, a little confused.

"I'm glad you like it." He said. Siren didn't answer. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Siren assured as she pulled away. "Thank you."

Chao could see something was troubling her, but he didn't push it. He left a while later to go into the village. When he came back, Siren was fast asleep in a chair. One of her new books was in her lap. Chao chuckled to himself and carried his daughter to bed. He pulled the blanket over her and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Siren." He whispered. "I love you."

He walked off to his own bed to sleep. Minutes after he left, Siren opened her eyes and got out of bed. She put on her pants and vest. She removed her comb and let her long black hair tumble down before braiding it. She fastened her cloak around her shoulders and carefully made her bed. She laid her panda doll against the pillow. Siren sighed and glanced down at her comb. She pulled her locket over her head and carefully wrapped the chain around the comb, placing the heart in the peach blossom. Siren took up her Bo staff and snuck into her father's room. Chao lay asleep on his bed, his chest steadily rising and falling as he slept. Siren thought about what she was about to do one last time before reminding herself that she had to do this. To protect the only family she had.

Siren gently placed her comb and locket in Chao's open hand. She wanted to do so much more, but forced herself not to.

Siren ran off through the front door and disappeared into the night.

FLASHBACK END

Siren growled. She opened her eyes and saw Shifu on the ground, vines wrapped around his arms and legs and holding him in place. Jiao-long was taking his time coming forward to kill him. Siren grabbed her staff. Her limbs shook as she stood, but all she had to do was think about who she was fighting for: Chao, her mother Ren, Shifu, Junjie, everyone that fought to protect her. That was enough to give her the strength to stand.

Jiao-long, Shifu, and Junjie, all who believed that Siren was dead, stared with wide eyes as the girl stood. Her clothes were still singed and her skin was dirty. Her hair, now shoulder length since it had been cut, fell loose of its braid. With her staff in hand and a fire in her bright green eyes, Siren said her next sentence with venom in every word.

"Leave…..them…..alone."

Jiao-long became angry and charged towards her. He swung his sword around to slice her in half. Siren only held up a hand to block it. The sword shattered like glass. Siren attacked Jiao-long in a flurry of moves: a rock-hard fist to his stomach, a solid knife hand strike to his throat, a sweep of the legs, a back fist to his chest that sent him to the ground, cracking the stone. Siren grabbed Jiao-long's collar and threw him high into the air. Using her powers, she shot straight up, flying after him. They went so high up that the mountain seemed like an ant hill. Siren gripped Jiao-long's throat as they hovered in midair.

Siren glared hard. "Nobody threatens my family or my home."

She threw him down to the earth. In her momentum, she spun around numerous times and shot her hand out. A powerful Thundering Wind Hammer, pure white like a comet, followed the Komodo dragon. Jiao-long turned and halted his fall, landing softly on the ground. He didn't, however, see the giant white ball of chi heading towards him until it was too late. The blast pushed Jiao-long into the ground and sent a blinding white flash. Siren gently floated down to the ground. A hole shaped like Jiao-long's body was in the rocks. The Komodo dragon stood shakily. He wobbled this way and that as he came forward.

"You…can't beat me!" Jiao-long panted. "You're…..just a weak….little….girl!"

"No, Jiao-long." Siren said. "You're weak." Jiao-long growled and ran towards her.

Siren held up her hand and he ran into it. With her hand still on his chest, Siren launched a strong chi attack. Her energy shot straight through Jiao-long, stripping him of the powers he had gained from her. With him finally powerless, Siren stepped back and did a spinning back kick. Jiao-long went flying back and over some rocks.

Shifu and Junjie stared. Siren stood in place, still as a statue, and sighed. Then, the exhaustion from her battle finally caught up, and her knees buckled. Siren fell to the ground, her staff rolling away. Shifu and Junjie struggled against the vines around their limbs.

"Siren?" Shifu called.

"Siren, are you alright?" Junjie asked. But Siren wouldn't move.

A cruel laugh rang out.