Chapter 34: farewell...master
So Shifu, Po and myself started to return to the Jade Palace after a long day of training. We were heading to the training hall to check up on the rest of the guys. Can't wait to see their faces when we show them what Po has learned in a matter of three days. As I thought about my friends on the way to the training hall, my thoughts soon shifted to Tigress. I wondered of she might have come back by now. I wondered if she was alright. I guess I'll find out once I'm inside the hall. The three of us finally reached the training hall and we stepped into the courtyard.
"You have done well, Panda." Shifu said.
"Done well? Done well?! I've done awesome!" Po exclaimed as he swung his belly straight into Shifu. This nearly threw him off balance by he managed to steady himself.
"The mark of a true hero is humility. But yes...you have done..." Shifu paused as he playfully punched Po in the belly which caused him to stagger him "...awesome." The three of us laughed until it died down. We all turned to hear a strange noise and a figure approaching us from the clouds.
"The hell...?" I questioned as the figure drew nearer. Soon enough the figure came into view and revealed itself to be Crane. He rushed the courtyard and he was carrying...oh my god. We gasped as he dropped our friends in the courtyard. They were all scattered on the ground and seemed to be in an immobilised state.
"Guys? Guys!" Po shouted as he threw his backpack aside and ran over to them."They're dead?! No, they're breathing! They're asleep?! No, their eyes are open..." I ran over to to Crane and helped him up. I noticed he was exhausted and his feathers were ruffled.
"Crane, are you alright? What happened?" I asked.
"We went after...Tai Lung. But we were no match...for his nerve attack." He replied panting.
"He has gotten stronger..." Shifu said as he pressed some pressure points on Mantis's chest and freed him from his state.
"Who? Tai Lung? Stronger?" Po asked. Shifu then rushed over the Monkey and began freeing him from the state. When he did, Monkey lashed out and punched Po in the face.
"He's too fast!" Monkey shouted. He looked around and realises where he is and what he's done. "Sorry, Po." As I watched my friends being freed from their state, I turned and gasped. I then quickly rushed to Tigress's side along with Shifu. He pressed down on he pressure points and freed her from her state. She released a gasp upon release.
"I thought we could stop him..." She said shamefully. I took her paw and helped her to her feet.
"He could have killed you." Shifu said as he began helping Viper.
"Why didn't he?" Mantis asked.
"Most likely so you could come back here and strike fear in our hearts. But it won't work!" Shifu said as he freed Viper.
"Uh, it might... I mean, a little. I'm pretty scared." Po said with a frightened expression.
"You can defeat him, panda!" Shifu encouraged.
"Are you kidding? If they can't...they're five masters. I'm just one me."
"But you will have the one thing that no one else does." Po's eyes widened.
"You mean...?" Shifu nodded.
"It is time." And at the final words we started to head to the Hall of Warriors. The others began to converse about what was happening while Tigress and fell behind. While the guys seemed pretty best up, they still managed to walk fine. Tigress looked like she got the worst of it. She was holding her side in pain and had a slight limp. Seeing her so hurt made me finally draw the line. I matched her speed, took her arm and placed it around my shoulder. She gazed at her arm before looking at me.
"You don't need to help me. I'm...fine..." She tried to protest but failed as she hissed in pain.
"Yeah, and I take it you're holding your side from laughing too hard, right?" She merely rolled her eyes. I then sighed. "I should have come with you. I could have stopped you from getting hurt."
"We would still come out with the same result. He was just too strong."
"Maybe...but Jesus, look at you. We may have come out with the same result...but I...I could have-" she raised a paw and silenced me.
"Listen to me. This is my fault, not yours. I had convinced myself that I could face him. I shouldn't have been so arrogant."
"You were just trying to hear him so you could my Shifu proud." She lowered her head.
"And I failed..."
"There'll be another way, you'll see. At least we can put this whole thing behind us for now. I'm just...glad you're safe." I said with a smile. She raised her head and met my gaze. She then released a smile of her own.
"Thank you. Now, we should hurry and catch up with the others." I nodded in agreement and began picking up the pace. We eventually caught up with the rest of them. When we entered the hall, Tigress removed her arm from my shoulder and insisted she could take it from here. We proceeded into the hall and face the dragon statue.
"You really... believe I'm ready?" Po asked Shifu.
"You are... Po." Shifu replied. Po smiled as they shared a glance. Shifu then turned and headed towards a small shrine we had built for Oogway. There was a portrait of him performing his Tai Chi beneath the peach tree. The portrait was surrounded by candles and his staff that was on a rack in front of it. Shifu took the took and headed over to the reflecting pool. Then Shifu whirled the staff. The peach blossom petals that were in the reflecting pool, rose in a flickering, spinning cloud. The gentle tornado rose up around the Dragon statue that helds the Dragon Scroll. The petals loosened the scroll from the dragon's mouth and it fells. Before it could land in the reflecting pool, Shifu reached out with the staff and caught the scroll on the end of it. He turned to Po, holding it out. "Behold. The Dragon Scroll... It is yours." Po then reached for it, but hesitated.
"Wait... what happens when I read it?" He asked.
"No one knows, but legend says you will be able to hear a butterfly's wing-beat."
"Whoa! Really? That's cool."
"Yes. And see light in the deepest cave. You will feel the universe in motion around you." Po then got a bit overexcited.
"Wow! Can I punch through walls? Can I do a quadruple back flip? Will I have invisibility-"
"Focus...focus." Shifu said bringing Po out of his...what ever the hell that was.
"Huh? Oh, yeah... yeah."
"Read it, Po, and fulfill your destiny. Read it and become... the Dragon Warrior!"
"Whooaa!" Po took the scroll. Then he grasped the tube and tries to pull the top off it...and it doesn't budge. He then started to strain at it. "It's impossible to open." He strains again and finally resorts to using his teeth to try and pry it open."Come on baby. Come on now..." Shifu held out his paw. Po passed him the scroll and Shifu popped the end off effortlessly and passes it back to Po. "Thank you. I probably loosened it up for you though... Okay, here goes." Po then began opening the scroll slowly. When it was halfway open, a day of golden light emitted from it. And when it was completely open, Po— "Ahhhhhhhh!" Po exclaimed. At his outburst, we were all startled, even Shifu. "It's blank!" It was...what!? All this build up and the frickin thing was blank!?
"What!?" Shfiu exclaimed.
"Here! Look!" Po tried to show him the scroll, but Shifu covered his eyes and refused to look at it.
"No! I am forbidden to look upon..." Shfiu paused mid-sentence as snatched the scroll from Po's paws. He turned it around, then upside down. He closed it and opened it again. "Blank? I don't...I don't understand."
"Okay. So like, Oogway... was just a crazy old turtle after all?" Po asked.
"No. Oogway was wiser than us all." Shifu replied as he stepped towards the reflecting pool.
"Oh, come on! Face it. He picked me by accident. Of course I'm not the Dragon Warrior. Who am I kidding?" Po said dejected.
"But who will stop Tai Lung?" Tigress asked.
"He'll destroy everything... and everyone." Crane said. We all looked to our master and waited for an answer. He was staring down at the reflecting pool. He then put the scroll back into its case and turned to us.
"No." He spoke calmly as he handed Po the scroll. "Evacuate the Valley. You must protect the villagers from Tai Lung's rage."
"What about you master?" Tigress asked.
"I will fight him." Po stared at Shifu.
"What?"
"I can hold him off long enough for everyone to escape."
"But Shifu... he'll kill you."
"Then I will finally have paid for my mistake." we all stared at him in devastation. "Listen to me, all of you. It is time for you to continue your journey without me. I am very proud to have been your master." He bowed to us and we have one in return. We all then reluctantly began to leave, except for Po, who still stood there heartbroken. Crane and I joined his side and began to pull him away.
"Come on, buddy..." I whispered as Crane and I both dragged him away. As we were about to exit the hall, I gazed over my shoulder and stared at Shifu one last time before leaving. When we reached the Valley we got word out that Tai Lung was on his way here and people didn't hesitant to pack up and leave. So many families were abandoning their home and it was just heartbreaking knowing we couldn't do anything but help guard them. An hour or so past and the sun had set. As I finished up helping a family of bunnies pack up, I was approached by Kai and Jian. I smiled and headed over to them.
"Hey, Ben." Kai greeted. I put my arms around the two and pulled them in for a hug.
"Hey, guys. It's good to see that you're feeling better, Jian." She smiled and wrapped her arms around Kai and he wrapped his around her.
"More than better actually." She said. I raised a brow confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...when I was at the doctor, he did some tests on me...and well...turns our I'm pregnant." My eyes widened and I smiled.
"Seriously? Oh my god, congratulations guys!"
"Thanks." Jian smiled. My smile then faded and I sighed.
"At least there's some good news..." I said looking around and watching everyone fleeing their homes.
"Can't believe this is happening...fleeing our homes like ...it" target="_blank"this...it's awful." Kai said sighing.
"Yeah, I just wished...what the?" I paused as I peeked around Kai and Jian and they followed my gaze. Coming towards us, was Irish. He wore his usual attire but also had a flat black cap on his head. He was also carrying suitcases. When we arrived by our side, He set his suitcases down and scratched his head.
"I've just got back from me holidays and I find everyone is leavin'. What's going on?" Irish asked confused.
"Long story short; Tai Lung has escaped prison and is on his way here. We're evacuating the Valley before he arrives." I explained quickly. Irish stood idle for a while with a blank expression. He then picked up his suitcases.
"Ah well. Looks like another holiday fer me then." He said before leaving us. I rolled my eyes and soon found my gaze set upon Tigress, who was helping a family pack.
"I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna go talk to someone." I said.
"Alright. See you later, Ben." Jian said before leaving with Kai. I then headed towards Tigress as she had just finished up helping a family pack. She turned towards me and we stared at one another.
"Hey, Ti." I greeted.
"Hello." She greeted back.
"So, you wanna talk?" She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. I then walked over to her and sat down next to her. "You heard him, Ti. He's proud of you. He always has been."
"I've waited so long to hear him say it. And yet...I feel empty." I sighed and leaned back.
"I know how you feel. God, where did everything go wrong?"
"You know, I had hoped after he said he was proud of me...that maybe...we would become closer and he might have...treated me as his...daughter." At her download words, she buried her head into her paw and sighed. Seeing my friend so upset started to make me sad too. I gazed down a noticed her paw resting on her lap. I slowly reached out and placed my hand over her paw and intertwined my fingers with hers. She pulled her other paw from her face and looked at my hand on her paw. Her gaze then turned to me. I smiled.
"It's gonna be okay, Ti. I'm for you." I whispered. She continued to stare at me before her eyes slowly closed and she rested her head against my shoulder. I then rested my head on hers and gently began to stroke her paw. We sat there for sometime and just leaned against one another. After a while, she pulled her paw away from my hand and stood up.
"Thank you...I'd...like to alone for a while." She said. I gave an understanding nod and then left me. I stood up and sighed. Everything that was happening right now felt like a dream. I mean days ago, we were all getting on with our usual routine and then...all this happened. I stood there for a while before deciding to find Po. I believe he said he was going to be at his fathers shop. Thankfully, I still could remember where it was so I had no trouble finding it. A walked for sometime before arriving at his fathers noodle shop. I saw that Po was outside it with a cart full of belongings and was facing a goose. Come to think of it, I believed I've seen that goose before. He was there when Po was pronounced as the Dragon Warrior. Perhaps he was an employee at his fathers shop. As I approached the two, I heard the two talking.
"...it's just plain old noodle soup? You don't add some kind of special sauce or something?" I heard Po say.
"Don't have to. To make something special, you just have to believe it's special." The goose said. Po seemed baffled at his words as he opened the scroll and stared at it. I finally reached the two and the goose turned. "Oh hello, can we help you?"
"I'm just here to talk to Po." I explained.
"Oh, you must be one of his Kung Fu friends." I nodded.
"Yeah, I'm Ben. It's nice to meet you...?"
"Mister Ping. I'm Po's father." Po's...father? But...oh, Po must be adopted. I didn't know that.
"A pleasure to meet you. Po said that you make some great noodle soup."
"Great? I make the best!" I chuckled.
"I'll have to try it sometime. I hope that-"
"There is no secret ingredient..." We heard Po said. We both turned to see him staring at us. He then turned his gaze at the Jade Palace steps before he rolled up the scroll and rushed towards the steps.
"Wait, Po! Where are you-" he ignored me as he started to climb the steps. I turned to Mister Ping. "We'll talk later. It was a pleasure to speak with you!" I shouted over my shoulder as I ran after Po.
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