Let's see what happens when Leo and Tai are reunited in the Spirit Realm! Will they make up? Will they battle for eternity? What will Oogway do? Let's find out!
katiecrutcher: I will definitely continue!
CEW: His past will certainly come to haunt him in this chapter...
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Josephguy217: Your support means a lot!
StoryWriter2015: You'll like this chapter!
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The Spirit Realm
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In the Spirit Realm, the atmosphere was oddly calm, especially considering the circumstances. Everything was gold or green tinted. Large mountain-like formations loomed in the distance. Water rippled, some unknown source causing unease in the water. A small island rolled out of the water.
The island was called The Hill of Creation of Souls. Whenever a Kung Fu Master passed away, whether it be by natural causes or at the hand of another animal, their soul arrived on the island. It was kind of like the Center of the Spirit Realm's Universe.
The Hill of Creation of Souls was not a large island, however. A large peach tree jutted out from the island. Beautiful pink petals dotted the tree branches, and the bark of the tree was dark. Three figures stood on the island.
One of the figures was Kung Fu Grandmaster Oogway the Wise. He was a galapagos tortoise, with a small head and a large shell. He wore a green cloak and carried a golden metal yingyang staff. He was one of the most powerful masters in the Spirit Realm, if not the most powerful.
Standing right beside Oogway was Master Leo Lung, the Lion Master. He was a large asian lion with a full, brown mane and light golden fur coat. He was a strong warrior who commonly went by 'Leo'. Leo wore simply a pair of emerald green pants. It was the outfit he was killed in.
The final figure, standing opposite of Leo and Oogway, was Tai Lung. He was the adopted brother of Leo. Tai Lung was a snow leopard, with a wide head, broad shoulders and a long tail. He was just as powerful as his brother. He did not wear a shirt or vest. He simply wore a large brown belt and purple pants. It was the outfit he was defeated in.
Now, the three figures stood staring at each other. Tai Lung glared at Oogway and Leo Lung. Oogway glanced slowly from Leo to Tai Lung, and Leo's wide, golden eyes shifted between Master Oogway and his brother.
The tension was so thick that even a dull blade could cut through it like butter. The silence was deafening, as loud as cannonfire. However, no animal dared break the silence. The two large cats were tense, waiting for the other to make a move. Oogway stood silent. Even he, the founder of Kung Fu, was unwilling to spark a flame that could possibly rage for centuries.
After what seemed like hours in the quietness, Tai Lung broke the silence. He turned to Leo Lung and addressed him,
"What are you doing here?" He growled. The snow leopards muscles twitched underneath his skin.
His dark amber eyes bored into Leo's. The asian lion felt the need to shift under his brother's ruthless gaze, but he remained strong. Leo lifted his chin and, forcing his fur to lay flat and his voice to remain steady, he spoke, "In your deranged, mad grab for the Dragon Scroll, it seems that you killed me."
"I'm not deranged!" Tai Lung immediately retaliated, his fur spiking and his tail lashing.
Leo Lung rolled his eyes, his lips twitching as he spoke, "Oh, please. You almost crippled Shifu again, you broke Oogway's wooden staff, and you defaced countless artifacts in the Hall of Warriors."
"That scroll was mine!" The snow leopard hissed. His claws unsheathed and he leapt at his brother. Leo snarled and sidestepped, and spat out another insult to his brother,
"You idiot! Why can't you just accept your fate like a normal animal? None of this would have happened if you had just accepted your fate instead of acting like a crazed madman!" Leo spat. Tai Lung's ears pinned to his head and he lunged at Leo.
In the mortal realm, the two cats were already injured and winded from previous battle, Leo from the lion trio and Tai from Shifu. But now they were replenished and healthy. They did not have scars or wounds to hold them back.
Oogway did not move to stop the two brothers from battling. He knew that the Universe had destined for this to happen. The two brothers would meet in combat, and and shake the world to it's core. The tortoise stepped back, gazing sorrowfully at the ground. He remembered when he first laid his old eyes on the two boys. They were only months old, as pure at the first winter snow.
His heart cracked at the thought of the two brothers killing each other.
Leo, usually the pacifist, was ready to fight. Leo did not know what happened after he died. Tai Lung could have slaughtered more innocent villagers. If he defeated Tai Lung, he would avenge himself and everyone else who fell to the snow leopard. The lion unsheathed his claws and slashed Tai Lung across his wide cheek. The snow leopard collapsed on his side.
Leo fell on all fours and snarled. It was a challenge: Fight me, now. Tai Lung quickly got back on his feet, answering Leo's dare. But instead of standing on his feet, he remained on all four paws, his eyes glaring at Leo.
The two big cats circled each other. Tai Lung opened his mouth and roared at Leo. It resonated, traveling miles. The sound echoed off of nearby mountains, alerting all beings in the Spirit Realm of the snow leopard's wrath.
Leo narrowed his eyes. He bunched his muscles and returned the roar right back to Tai Lung. It was deep, powerful, and almost had a wild tone to it. His mane prickled, and his muzzle curled in pure spite.
Tai Lung and Leo Lung faced each other. Leo bunched his muscles, and braced for the battle. Oogway lowered his head sadly. As much as he hated to see this, the two warriors were destined to meet in battle.
The two cats leapt at each other. They collided, their claws slashing. Leo, who was bigger than his brother, reared backwards and lunged at Tai, his paws outstretched. Tai Lung recoiled and copied Leo's stance, his lips curled in a snarl.
The lion roared and charged. Tai Lung growled and grabbed Leo's shoulders, trying to push him backwards. Leo hissed as Tai Lung's claws dug into his skin. Leo pushed against the snow leopards shoulders in return. The felines pushed against each other, each one glaring daggers at the other. Tai Lung was defending whatever scrap of dignity he had left, and Leo was looking to avenge his own life. Both had valid reasons for wanting to win over their brother.
Tai dug his claws downward, into Leo's tense shoulders. Leo howled in pain as Tai Lung swung him around and threw him away. Leo collided with the peach tree, and his head banged against the bark of the tree. Leo blinked his eyes, focusing his vision just in time to see Tai Lung lunge at him, and wrap his large paw around Leo's mane, trying to put him into a choke hold.
Thinking quickly, Leo Lung used his elbows and broke the leopard's grip. Leo leapt onto his feet and kicked his leg out, landing a solid blow to Tai's chest. The leopard fell backwards, landing on his back. He gasped, as Leo had knocked the air out of his lungs.
Leo, all rational thought thrown out the window, lunged at Tai with a snarl and pinned him to the ground. Tai struggled underneath him, his tail lashing, but Leo bared his fangs in a deadly growl,
"This is for Shifu, and for me." Leo reared his head back, about to clamp his jaws in a vice-like grip around Tai's throat, but instead of feeling the fur and flesh of the snow leopard, he felt...metal.
Everything went quiet.
Leo's eyes flew open, and he saw a golden staff. Leo, instead of biting Tai Lung's throat, had bitten Master Oogway's staff. The tortoise had realized that, without anyone to stop him, Leo would have killed Tai Lung. So he had decided to step in.
"Leo Lung.." Oogway said quietly, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "you know better than to use your teeth in combat."
Leo's eyes widened in disbelief. The lion stared at the tortoise in surprise. His eyes went from the tortoise to his brother. Tai Lung was staring at him. His eyes were as wide as tea cups. Instead of the fiery anger there just moments before, fear laced the snow leopards eyes. His breathing was ragged. For one of the first times in Tai Lung's life, he was scared. His brothers razor sharp canine teeth had brushed against his throat. If Oogway had not stepped in, then he would be dead by now.
Quickly realizing what was going on, Leo clambered off of his brother, sitting on his knees, his eyes wide with shock. Tai Lung propped himself up to a sitting position, breathing heavily. Leo opened his mouth, about to say something, then closed it.
Oogway looked at the two brothers, and spoke, "Leo Lung, do you have anything you want to say to your brother?"
The lion stared at his master, and then to Tai. He thought for what seemed to be hours. In reality, it was only a few minutes. The lion spoke,
"Tai Lung... I..am sorry." He said quietly.
"For what? Insulting me? Trying to kill me in front of Oogway? I don't believe 'sorry' will cut it." The leopard snarled, glaring at his brother.
"I know!" Leo said, a bit of hurt in his voice as he tried to find his words. Leo thought, trying to choose his words carefully. Oogway placed his staff on the ground, his elongated claws clinking against the metal,
"Maybe you should try to make things right, young one." He stated, sagely.
Leo and Tai stared at each other, their eyes both wide. Leo crawled over to Tai so that they were sitting across from one another. Leo Lung's mane felt heavy around his neck as he slowly opened his mouth to speak,
"I want to help you." Leo started, "If you had asked for help I would have given it. You are my brother, Tai. I care about you more than anything. It almost killed me to see you in that horrible prison, with those rhino guards. The amount of guilt that I felt for the next twenty years felt like a mountain on my shoulders."
Tai Lung gazed evenly at Leo, waiting for him to continue. Leo talked slowly, letting the words sink into Tai Lung's head, "I will always be here for you. I will always forgive you. The question is...will you forgive me?"
The burly snow leopard looked at the lion. Leo returned the gaze. Now that he looked closely, he could see that Tai Lung's eyes were sunken in and his fur seemed messy. He really had had a rough twenty years in the prison.
The two brothers spent the next few minutes staring sadly at each other. Silence began to overcome the Spirit Realm. The silence was not awkward, however. It was...comfortable. The atmosphere was serene. Calm. Tai Lung's eyes shifted downward as he mulled over his brother's words.
Oogway watched, content in his eyes. This is what the Universe had destined.
A sniffle broke the silence. Tai Lung wiped a single tear from his cheek before it could reach the still-red scratch marks that Leo put there. Tai Lung leaned forward, causing Leo's eyes to widen. The snow leopard extended his arms and wrapped the lion in a hug.
Leo's eyes grew to the size of plates. Tai Lung...was hugging him? Tai Lung never expressed affection, not in his life, and here he was, embracing him. Leo let out a noise that was something of a mix between a gasp and a sob. Leo hugged Tai back.
"I forgive you, Leo."
For the first time in over twenty years, Tai felt something that he had not felt in a long time. Happiness. A large weight seemed to lift itself off of his wide shoulders. He smiled. No, he beamed. The past was behind him. The Dragon Scroll was not his, or Leo's, but that was fine.
"You have learned to forgive, Tai Lung. It seems Leo Lung's time here is finished." Oogway said, a smile on his round head.
The wind picked up, and peach blossoms began to surround the brothers. Tai Lung, realizing what Oogway's words meant, began to panic,
"Leo! No! Don't leave me, please!" Tai Lung begged, clutching Leo in a tight embrace, "We can live here! Train as much as we want!" But the lion was silent. He hugged the leopard tightly, feeling the petals swirl around him. His body began to feel light.
"Tai Lung, look at me," Leo instructed quietly. The leopard let him go and looked at him. Leo smiled sadly as his body began to fade. He spoke quietly, "We will see each other again soon. One day." The lion quietly assured his brother. The snow leopard sobbed and clutched Leo's mane as the lion faded away in a flurry of petals.
"One day..."
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The Mortal Realm
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Po and Shifu sat by Leo's body. They had been sitting vigil for what had seemed like hours. Golden and red light shined through the broken doors of the Hall of Warriors. Dusk had arrived.
Po had given up trying to revive the dead lion, and he had simply settled for running his paw through Leo's mane. It was stiff and sticky with blood. Po was tempted to grab a brush and groom the lion's mane. But he did not want to leave. He felt almost obligated to sit beside the lion.
Shifu had one paw laid on Leo's muzzle, idly rubbing circles into the short fur. Leo's body had already grown cold, and Shifu wanted to desperately warm up the lion. He had no qualms about sitting in the pool of blood if it meant trying to keep his son warm. Had he ever called Leo his son? The red panda despaired at the thought. Leo had called him 'Father' many times, especially when he was a young cub. But Shifu could not remember if he ever called Leo his child. His throat tightened, and he gritted his teeth.
"Master, what are we going to do now?" Po broke the silence. The panda looked at Shifu sadly. Shifu shut his eyes tightly to try and prevent any tears from falling. Shifu opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by a heart-wrenching scream.
Tigress stood in the doorway. Her hands were covering her mouth in pure horror, and her eyes were wide as she surveyed the room. The rest of the Five ran up behind her. Horrified expressions painted their faces as they saw the Lion Master dead on the floor.
"Master Leo!" Viper cried, slithering quickly over to Shifu, Po, and Leo. The rest of the Five quickly followed suit. The five animals gathered around Leo's body, hastily searching for any signs of life.
Tigress' eyes began to water as she held Leo's head in her large paws. She gently began to stroke his bloody mane and touch his crooked whiskers. Tigress spoke softly, "He's dead..He's dead."
The brother that she had looked up to all her life was gone. The lion that had been her favorite mentor, her brother, and her best friend was killed. The lion that had saved her from being kidnapped, encouraged her to form and lead the Five, and taught her that it's ok to be nervous. He was dead.
She cradled Leo's body, and began to sob freely. The other members of the Five, Shifu, and Po watched sorrowfully as Tigress mourned her brother's death. The tiger's face was wet with tears.
As time went on, the sun began to set and the golden-red light of the setting sun turned to pale moonlight. Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis had paid their respects and left for their room. That left only Shifu, Po, and Tigress, the three closest animals to Leo.
The three animals did not say anything. They sat around Leo, gazing sadly at his body, wondering what they could have done to save him. They thought about what he was doing now, and where he was. Was he with Oogway? Was he reborn into someone else's body? Shifu shifted his gaze to the floor as these thoughts ran rampant in his mind.
When midnight neared, Shifu stood up and looked at Po and Tigress. His voice was hoarse when he spoke, "You two should go off to bed. We shall not train tomorrow. We will bury Leo tomorrow, at the Peach Tree, at sunrise."
The two animals nodded in solemn unison. Each of the three animals paid their final respects and said their last farewells to Leo, and they stood to leave. Doctors waited outside to collect the lion's body and prepare it for burial.
However, as Shifu, Tigress, and Po began to leave, the wind picked up. Peach blossoms swirled into the building. Shifu glanced upward, confusion on his face. He remembered the flurry of petals that had carried Oogway up to the heavens. Was this Oogway paying his respects to the fallen lion?
The flower petals swirled around Leo's body. More and more peach petals swirled around the lion's body. There were so many petals that one could not even see Leo. They swirled faster and faster until it was a blur of pink surrounding Leo.
At this point, Shifu, Tigress, and Po knew something was going on, but they did not know what. Was Oogway carrying Leo's body to the heavens? Was he saying goodbye as well? The trio did not know.
Suddenly the wind slowed down. The flower petals fell to the ground, surrounding Leo's body. Shifu stood still, an expectant look on his face. Tigress and Po looked equally confused. What were the petals for?
A heartbeat resounded throughout the building. It was slow, and very quiet. If one did not listen, they could not hear it. All three animals steadied their breathing so they could try and hear it. Shifu's head cocked to the side. Was that heartbeat-?
Shifu rushed over to the lion, Tigress and Po quick on his tail. Shifu reached Leo's body and held out a tentative paw to the lion's muzzle. Shifu touched Leo's nose.
It was warm.
"My Gods..." Shifu uttered, his eyes impossibly wide.
The lion stirred. His whiskers twitched. His tail flicked. Tigress, Shifu and Po all held their breath. Was Leo coming back to life? Leo slowly groaned and opened his soft, golden eyes.
Shifu felt his cheeks getting wet from tears.
"M-Master..?" Leo croaked, his voice ragged and hoarse. Tigress and Po stood frozen from shock at the sight in front of them. Shifu nodded, tears flowing freely down his face,
"Yes, it's me. I'm here." Shifu said, wrapping his paws around Leo's muzzle in a hug, "I'm here, my child."
Tigress and Po finally came to their senses and hugged the lion from all sides. Leo smiled, returning their embrace.
(Unbeknownst to Leo, Shifu, Tigress, and Po- when Tai Lung hit Leo's head against the marble floor, it had caused a massive hemorrhage in his brain. Leo would not have remembered anything if he came back on his own. So, in the flurry of flower petals, Oogway had healed this injury, so he could remember everything and everyone.)
Leo beamed. Tai Lung was in the Spirit Realm. Despite that, the two brothers had no bad blood between them. Leo was back in the mortal realm, free to live out his life with Shifu, Tigress, Po, and everyone else. He had his life before him. Leo was finally happy. He had Shifu, his father figure; Tigress, his sister figure; and Po, his apprentice. Leo also had the rest of the Furious Five, his family.
Free to live out his life, Leo hugged the three animals and laughed. He would never take life for granted again.
He was home.
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Authors Note: AHH I LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS! Let me know what you think of this chapter by reviewing! If you love this chapter then favorite! If you want more chapters like this than follow the story! Reviews, favorites, and follows always motivate me to write!
Hey! Guess what! I have finally finished the first movie! After this will be the start of the second movie! You will meet Lord Shen, Masters Croc and Ox, but we will still have our favorite lion, tiger, and panda as the main characters! You may also recognize some returning faces! I hope you all are excited because (in the words of Master Po) it will be TOTALLY AWESOME!