A/N: I do not own KUNG FU PANDA or any of it's characters, locations, etc. I can only take credit for my OC's.
WOW! CHAPTER 50! Dang, this story is long! LOL!
*Sigh* I feel somewhat depressed. This story is nearly done (Only 11 chapters left...) and I have NO IDEA what I'm going to be doing after this is done. *Whines* I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS STORY FOR NINE MONTHS! THIS IS BY FAR THE BIGGEST PROJECT I HAVE EVER BEEN INVOLVED IN! *Curls up in a corner rocking back and forth* "Must continue writing...but what?"
(Sorry people, I just needed to blow off some steam) Enjoy! :D
Executioner's Block
Tigress was finding it difficult to see clearly; her vision blurred by the building tears in her amber eyes as she gazed towards Shifu. His head was bowed in sorrow, and his eyes were practically as wet as hers. He took a deep cleansing breath before continuing.
"It did not take long for me to finally succumb to the blood loss of my own wounds. Rui found us shortly after we had both fallen unconscious, but Jia…" Shifu paused, "…she was already beyond saving. And when I woke up three days later, she was already gone."
Tigress's ears lowered flat against her head, "I'm so sorry Shifu…I didn't know."
"Well, you know now. I'm just sorry that you had to find out this way." Shifu gestured with a nod of his head towards the chains that bound them. "After Xiōng měng's death, the Shadow Dragons quickly retreated. Dozens of families had been killed, farmlands destroyed, and homes decimated. It took years before any signs of the Shadow Dragons' raid on the Valley had been completely erased, but we could all still feel the scars."
"It must have been terrible." Tigress said.
Shifu nodded his head in response, "It took me several months until I was finally able to come to terms with Jia's death; and a little more than a year after the raid, I found Tai Lung abandoned at the gates of the Jade Palace." He paused a moment to center his thoughts, "I suppose Tai Lung helped me to move on with my life, give me a reason to keep going. But after Oogway denied him the title of Dragon Warrior, his violent rampage only deepened my guilt upon knowing that I could have prevented it from ever happening. I lost my wife, my son, my master, and now I fear that I shall lose you as well…" Shifu frowned and his ears lowered.
Tigress gazed thoughtfully towards Shifu, she could only imagine the pain he had lived with all these years, on top of the guilt that had accumulated throughout all that time. She gave a slight tug at her chains, knowing full well that she couldn't escape them, nor could Shifu with his own bonds. There was no way out of this, and they both knew it. And unless by some miracle they managed to escape, they weren't going to leave this place alive.
"Shifu," Tigress stated, "Everything is going to be alright."
The red panda shook his head, "I wish I could believe that. None of this would have happened if we hadn't come here in the first place. Qiang planned everything perfectly, and I fell for it." He said with resentment in his tone.
"You couldn't have known of his treachery from the beginning; you thought his intentions were sincere, and you shouldn't blame yourself for wanting to make amends with him. It's not your fault, its Qiang's."
Shifu's shoulders sagged slightly and his gaze lowered to the ground, "I'm sorry Tigress. I'm so sorry. If I could get you out of here I would, but—"
"But that's not going to happen." Tigress finished.
Shifu's ears lowered flat against his small head. He knew that Tigress was well aware that the only way they were going to leave this place, was when Qiang would dispose of their lifeless bodies. He hated the fact that he had fallen for his brother's tricks, but he was even more distressed about the fact that he could do nothing to protect his daughter from Qiang's rage.
"I'm sorry…" Shifu said again.
"Don't be." Tigress answered, "It'll be alright. We'll make it through this."
"How?"
"By facing it together." The feline stated firmly, causing Shifu to eye her intently. "If there's no way out of this, and if we're going to face death here, then so be it. At least we will die with honor and meet our ends with dignity, because I will not beg for mercy from these tyrants, and neither should you for my sake."
Shifu gave off a small sigh as he gazed into Tigress's fiery amber eyes. The glowing red cores burned with a resolve and determination that he had never seen from her before, and he could feel a swell of pride growing inside his chest as he gave her a caring smile. Despite their impending doom, his daughter was ready to face it with her head held high. "Tigress...I don't think that there has ever been a time where I haven't been more proud of you, than I am right now."
Tigress could feel her heart rate quicken, and she returned a smile towards her master.
"No matter what happens, we will face it through to the very end." Shifu finished.
The feline nodded in response as the pair of them gave each other silent comfort. Shifu's ears then twitched towards the cell door before it finally opened, revealing a group of half a dozen Shadow Dragons led by Qiang and Shì xiě. The black wolf was brandishing a large executioner's axe which rested over his shoulder and he sneered towards Tigress as a few assassins unchained her from the wall. They held firmly onto her shoulders so she could not wriggle free, and they began marching her out of the chamber.
The other Shadow Dragons also unchained Shifu from his bonds, and Qiang immediately grabbed a hold of the back of Shifu's collar on his robe before forcefully pushing him forward with a knife pressed into his back. "Time for the main event." Qiang taunted.
Po squinted in order to see ahead of him as he finally caught a glimpse of an orange glow from around the bend of the passage, "I'm not the only one seeing this, right?"
"Torchlight, I see it too." Crane confirmed.
Monkey gave a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness! I was really getting tired of walking through black ink!"
Viper came to a sudden stop, bringing the others to a halt. She flicked her forked tongue from side to side, obviously searching for something. "There's been a lot of activity here recently; I would assume that the Shadow Dragons use this tunnel quite often."
Po lifted his paw to wipe some droplets of water off from the top of his head as they dripped from the ceiling. "What I'd like to know is why this place is so wet." He shuffled his feet against the semi-wet ground that was almost mud beneath his feet.
"Think about it Po. This used to be a mine, and there just so happens to be an immense waterfall thousands of feet above us." Crane said.
"So you're saying that the ceiling could give out on us at any second?" Po asked nervously.
"I don't think so. It's logical to figure that the miners diverted the water to different parts of the mountain with dykes and dams so they could get to the richer sources of gold. It would take something pretty powerful to bring them down; otherwise this whole place could be flooded within a matter of minutes."
"Yeesh!"
"Listen!" Viper quietly warned as the sounds of voices could be heard from the main tunnel ahead. The four of them frantically looked around for a side tunnel to escape through, but there was none in sight.
"Quick! In here!" Monkey urged as he ran to a wooden door opposite them and pulled it open. They immediately rushed inside the small room and Po quickly, but quietly, closed it shut as the sounds of voices and footsteps came ever closer. The Kung Fu Warriors waited with baited breath for fear of being discovered, and Po pressed his ear flat against the door to listen in on the amused laughter of the assassins as they made their way past the small room.
Their voices were gruff and they were obviously enjoying something that the Kung Fu Warriors had obviously missed out on. They each strained their ears to listen in on what they were saying.
"Yeah, we'd better get going; otherwise we'll be late for The Master's big event." One voice said.
"And who knows, he'll probably be in a good enough mood to let us pillage some more farm lands, I've been itching for some action!" Another voice chuckled as they walked past the small room where the Kung Fu Warriors were hidden.
They eyed each other worriedly; what was this main event that they spoke of? The four of them stayed silent until the footsteps and laughter died away down the tunnel; only after silence returned, did they dare breathe.
"We need to follow them; maybe they can lead us to where Shifu and Tigress are." Po suggested.
"And how do we get around without being spotted?" Monkey asked, "These tunnels are no doubt crawling with Shadow Dragons, we can't keep our presence hidden for much longer, especially if that snow leopard from the collapsed tunnel wakes up and informs them that we're here."
"If only there was a way to blend in or something." Viper said.
"Hey guys," Crane spoke up, "take a look at this." The avian was looking at the contents within a large crate that sat in the corner of the small room, and as the others gazed inside; they could see black leather and dark clothing.
"Shadow Dragon uniforms?" Viper said with a raised brow.
"Well, this is convenient." Po said with a smile.
No words needed to be said amongst them as they were all thinking the same thing, and it didn't' take long for the four of them to clothe their bodies in the black clothing. "I know this is necessary, but I feel really dirty putting this stuff on." Monkey said as he pulled the hood of his shirt over his head.
"I know right?" Po answered with a shudder. "This is just wrong."
"Don't worry you guys, it's only temporary." Crane said as he handed Monkey his rice hat to strap to his back beneath his hood; he would only draw attention to himself if he continued to wear it.
"Are you boys ready?" Viper asked beneath her black mask.
Po pulled his own hood over his head and placed the mask over his eyes, "Let's do this!"
Tigress struggled against the assassins that escorted her down the dimly lit corridor, and she growled in response to their excessive pushing and shoving as they continued forward. She turned her head to see that more Shadow Dragons were following from behind with Qiang who still had a firm hold on Shifu with a knife pressed against his back to force him forward.
They were led into an immense chamber of high stone walls and a dome-like ceiling that towered at least two hundred feet above them. Multiple pathways spiraled up the sloping walls and Tigress could see remnants of old caves and caverns that had obviously been sealed off by the Shadow Dragons once the mountain had been stripped of all its gold from the miners. Old abandoned mining carts sat rusted and dirty on old iron tracks that were covered with cobwebs and dust.
But of course, it was the immense crowd of cloaked figures that caused both Tigress and Shifu to gasp at their numbers. Hundreds upon hundreds of Shadow Dragons stood at the ready, leering and jeering at them as they were brought to the center of the enormous chamber. Shifu turned towards Qiang, "Someone's been a busy bee." He scowled.
"Indeed little brother, the numbers you see here is only half of what we use to be before the Emperor sent his armies to wipe us out. Soon, all of China will feel our iron grip tighten once more after the Valley of Peace has burned to the ground, and the Imperial Palace captured."
"You can't possibly think that your followers can take on the Imperial Army!"
"We won't have to. Once the Emperor is out of the way, the Imperial Army will have no choice but to obey my orders." Qiang sneered as he pressed the blade harder against Shifu's back, causing him to cringe slightly towards the sharp edge of the knife.
His eyes then widened upon seeing a large stone block ahead with a crook carved into its top. Several chips of rock had been taken out of it by obvious blows it had received from the impacts of multiple sharp objects, but that's not what made Shifu's blood run cold. Dark stains of old, dried blood covered a better portion of the grey block, no doubt the result of numerous executions that had taken place; and his heart skipped a beat as Tigress was forcefully shoved towards it.
The feline growled towards her captors as they pushed her to her knees and shoved her downwards so that her neck fit perfectly in the dip of the executioner's block; Shì xiě was standing close by with an axe gripped tightly in his paws.
Shifu was brought forward as well, and Qiang forced him to his knees by grabbing a fist full of Shifu's head fur and pressing the knife at the back of his neck; causing him to crane his head upwards so that he faced forward directly in front of the block. Shifu tried to wriggle free of his brother's death grip on him, but Qiang's hold was firm and unyielding.
"I want you to watch this Shifu." Qiang whispered in his ear, "I want to see your spirit break as she dies!"
Shì xiě walked slowly forward with an evil grin stretching across his muzzle. He grasped the handle of the executioner's axe firmly in both of his paws. "Go ahead Grand Master, beg for mercy; beg for your daughter's life." The wolf taunted.
Shifu's eyes were brimming with unshed tears as he and Tigress made eye contact. The feline was showing no signs of panic or distress, and she gave her master a small comforting smile. The elderly red panda's body was practically shaking with each terrified breath he took, but he knew that he couldn't resort to such weakness. I cannot beg; for my daughter's sake, I cannot beg. Shifu silently thought to himself.
Shì xiě huffed through his nose, clearly unsatisfied towards Shifu's silence. "No matter, she's been branded for death ever since she was an infant." The wolf then grasped the handle of the axe and lifted the bladed weapon high above his head. "And so ends the bloodline of General Feng!"
Shifu desperately struggled against Qiang's hold on him, and he could no longer contain his own horror as Shì xiě swung the axe towards Tigress's exposed neck.
"NO!" He screamed.
A/N: *GASP!* TIGRESS! NOOOOOO! *Continues screaming until the next chapter is posted* DX
Sorry for the cliffhanger people, but don't worry, I'll post the next chapter soon.
R&R please, I do love those reviews!
