Chapter 27: A Hike to the Roots of Kung Fu.

Third Person.

It's been only a few hours since the concert and for one Master Tigress, it's all but a memory. She wakes up much earlier than normal with one mission in mind, stopping Tai Lung from causing harm and mayhem in the Valley. However, normally for a mission like this, it's usually nothing personal. But for Tigress, she's been patiently waiting since the news of his escape from prison to plan an ambush over 20 years in the making.

Before she could step foot out of the barracks, she heard some small chatter coming from the entrance way. She walks out to see the rest of her team waiting for her.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asks.

"Waiting for you." Crane said.

"You didn't think we knew what you were planning?" Viper slithered over to her.

"If you guys are trying to stop me, don't." Tigress said sternly.

"You wanna risk all of this for someone you haven't seen since you were a child? Someone who-" Tigress cut her off

"That SOMEONE, Viper, is the reason I became who I am. He caused me to become the hardcore warrior everyone knows me as. He's the reason why my relationship with Shifu isn't as it should be. So yeah, I am risking my life to stop that piece of filth."

"But what about John? Why not have him fight Tai Lung with us together, HERE. We'll be better off all of us fighting him together." Viper said.

Although Viper had a point, Tigress had other ideas.

"This has nothing to do with John. Even if he wouldn't have been picked to be the Dragon Warrior, I would still be doing this. Now, if any of you want to join me or stay behind I have no issues with that whatsoever. All I want you guys to know is that I need to do this.

For those wanting to join, I'm leaving now."

With no further ways of convincing her to back down and wait, they left with her. Thinking that they left without anyone noticing, Tigress felt relieved. Unbeknownst to her, somebody else was also aware of her plans, John.

He had just gotten back from the bathroom two minutes prior to the others making their way outside the barracks to wait for Tigress.

Although feeling pretty disappointed with her actions, he understood that this was her business. He simply sighed before falling back asleep.

John's POVA few hours later

"Gong!"

For the first time since I got here, the morning gong had woken me up.

As I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I saw the silhouette of Shifu standing outside my door.

"Good Morning Master. Sorry for the delay, I just woke up."

"No worries Captain. Can I come in?" He asked me.

"Sure."

He walked in and took a seat on the chair next to my desk.

"How did you sleep?"

"Apart from needing to use the bathroom early this morning, I slept like a baby." I said.

He gave me a look of concern.

"So you know about the others leaving?"

It took me a moment to realize what he meant.

"Oh, yeah...I overheard them before falling back asleep. Although not pleased about Tigress doing so, we're all adults so I have to respect her choice." I said.

"As much as I don't want to, I have to accept her choice too." He paused for a moment.

"So since it's just us two until who knows when. After breakfast, why don't I take you somewhere I think you should see for yourself. Essentially a little hiking trip."

"Why not, sure would beat training alone. When did you wanna get going?" I asked.

"Would you be ready in an hour?"

"Sounds good to me Master."

"Good. Oh and pack up some essentials. We will be spending the night at our destination."

"Roger that." I said.

Timeskip

Following breakfast and packing up, me and Shifu were making way on our hike towards this location he wanted to take me to. It would take a couple for us to get there, due to the path taking us across different ridges along the mountain.

During the hike, we would mainly talk about whatever we had on our minds.

"I forgot to ask Master. How did you enjoy the show last night?"

"Well, the music itself isn't my cup of tea. But as a whole, it was amazing to see not only the way each individual member onstage played, but also just how much music can unite people in one area.

I also have to say that I am proud of all of the Five for stepping out of their comfort zone and do this show. It really put alot of smiles on people's faces."

"I'm glad I could help them out with it all. It was an amazing seeing the smiles we saw onstage. I'm hoping that we can do it again someday with both Mei Ling's band and my band together. That would be one hell of a good time."

"We'll see when the time comes." Shifu chuckled.

"So how much further do we have?"

"We should be there in about 20 minutes. Don't tell me you're tired Captain."

"Nah, just asking that's all. If anything, it's relaxing. I used to hike occasionally with my mother. Brings back memories."

20 minutes later, we made it to this pond. Had to admit it, was not as I expected.

"So...we hiked for over two hours, just to come swim in this pond?" I asked.

As I was putting the stuff down to look around, Shifu stopped me.

"Captain, we do not bathe in the Pool of Sacred Tears."

"The pool of what now?" I asked.

"This pool is where Master Oogway unraveled the mysteries of harmony and focus. This is the birthplace of Kung Fu."

My eyes were as big as basketballs. I then fell on my ass, realizing how sacred this place was for the art of Kung Fu.

"Holy shit." I said.

"I come here every so often to come and meditate so I can clear my thoughts to attain inner peace." Shifu said.

"Wow. Not gonna lie, that's pretty heavy." I chuckled.

"And so I wanted to bring you here not only for you to see how important this location is for Kung Fu, but also I figured we could get some training done together.

Now, since your skills with Kung Fu have beat my expectations from when you first arrived last week. I decided that instead of the normal training routine, I will show some of the things that Oogway has taught me over the years for you to learn as well."

Feeling extremely honored that he would teach me things that Master Oogway personally taught him, I bowed in acceptance.

"Master, it would be my greatest honor to learn Master Oogway's ideology behind the art of Kung Fu."

Bowing in return, he then went on to teach me for the remainder of the day the many tips and tricks Oogway had taught him before passing on to the spirit realm.

This really opened my heart and mind learning these things because it gave me a new way of approaching the art as a whole. It really was an experience I would never forget.

Back to normality for John's quest as the Dragon Warrior. As for the fight between Tai Lung and the Five, I won't be including that because like when Shifu told Oogway of Tai Lung's escape, I decided not to add my own spin on it and just keep it as is.I hope y'all enjoyed and stay tuned.