Hello there!
Okay. Okay. We're here. For real. This is it. No more putting it off. We're here. The end (of the first half, anyway).
Thank you so much to everyone who's followed so far. It really means a lot. After I finish this, I'll take a little break and work on some other projects of mine. I have other projects to pick up where I left off and some new one-shots to write. But I'll come back to this pretty soon, as it's become my 'primary' focus of sorts.
Alright, come on, enough talk. Let's finish this.
On with the show...
Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu - Two Hours Until The Wedding
"Are you sure? I- I mean, are you absolutely positive?" Po asked again for the third time.
Mantis, who was currently sitting on Po's shoulder, nodded- for the third time.
"Yeah, we told you. You. Look. Fine."
Po looked back into the full-body mirror and examined himself in it. How the mirror seemed so evil. Po wanted to look into it and see someone who was ready to be married, not someone who was needlessly fretting over fruitless topics such as the state of his clothes.
The days had soon passed, the wedding day had finally arrived. Preparations had been made, and everything had been set in place for the biggest moment in Po's life. The wedding was to take place in the Village Square, the largest place in town. Normally, they would have done it in the courtyard that sat just below the Thousand Steps, the same place they had the Dragon Warrior selection ceremony, but it was not big enough to host all the people that were attending the event. On top of all of the villagers, word had spread outside of the Valley, and many others were coming to witness the momentous occasion for themselves.
Po had spent the night in his dad's shop, as Tigress had insisted that she didn't want to let Po see her the morning of the wedding. She wanted to take her time to get ready and make herself perfect for him. Of course, she had only warned Po to stay clear of her room, but Po, in a very Po-like manner, had gone all-out and simply spent the night in his old room in his dads' sho[. The next morning, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis had come down from the Palace to join him in his preparations.
For the ceremony, Po had decided to wear the outfit that he had worn in the Spirit Realm. The white and gold robe with the cape draped around his back, and soft silk pants in place of his usual brown ones. Of course, he didn't really have the same outfit he wore in the Spirit Realm, as he had lost it when he had returned to the Mortal Realm, but he remembered it, and had it's design given to the Valley's top tailors, who had recreated it to perfection.
But as Po had put it on and looked into the mirror, he didn't see what he wanted to see. At first, he had been worried that it was his clothes. Something had to have been wrong with them. But what?
But after his friends had reassured him he looked fine, then what else could it be?
"Hmm," Po cynically hummed.
Crane rolled his eyes and sighed. "Po, you look good, okay? You can stop doubting yourself."
Po shook his head. "No. No, something's wrong, but I don't know what it is."
Po looked into the mirror, but only saw his own face, and the faces of his friends staring back.
Monkey put his paw on Po's shoulder, giving it a soft yet reassuring squeeze. "Hey man, it's okay to be scared. It's your wedding day! It's perfectly normal."
Po inwardly sighed, as his friends didn't understand what he was trying to say. "No, no, that's not what I mean. I guess what I'm trying to say is… am I good enough for her?"
The faces of all three of his friends turned to look at Po with shock.
"Are you crazy?" Monkey asked. "Do you seriously think Tigress would choose to marry you if she didn't think you weren't good enough for her?"
"Yeah," Crane backed Monkey up with. "It seems to me that she answered that question for you a long time ago."
But Po stared deeper still into his own eyes in the mirror; his own jade eyes, and finally realized what was worrying him so much.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to put it into words. He then released his breath and opened his eyes.
He clasped his paws together and began to speak. "No. Let me put it another way. Eventually, one day, everything is going to fall away from us. Right now, there's the excitement of the wedding, of being in love, of being married, of all of that. But one day, we'll be together, and that excitement will have gone away. One day, it'll just be us. Us, and no one else. You guys won't be there, Master Shifu won't be there, my dads won't be there, and not even the bandits will be there. It'll just be us, alone. And I don't know, in that moment, if I'll be enough for her."
Mantis shifted his eyes as he reinterpreted Po's words. "So… you mean you're worried that you won't be enough for Tigress when her hormones die down a little, huh?"
Po turned his head to Mantis on his shoulder, and gave him a very half-hearted stare that attempted to say "really?" But on a certain level, Po couldn't argue, as that was exactly what he was worried about.
"Po," Crane began, "That's the moment when you'll be your best. When there's nothing else but the two of you."
Po looked up in the mirror, away from his own eyes for the first time, and looked at Crane's, who was using the mirror to look Po in the eyes.
The panda gave a soft smile. "Thanks."
There was a brief moment of awkward silence as the four of them simply stood there, admiring Po's flowing outfit in the mirror, until Mantis decided to try and liven up the dead atmosphere.
"Come on, Po, you sound like you're going to a funeral. Cheer up some! Come on, repeat after me: I can do this."
Po nodded and looked in the mirror. "I can do this," he softly said.
"Ohh, come on, that was so weak," Monkey added, scrunching up his face at Po's halfhearted chant. "Do it again."
"I can do this," Po repeated with a little more energy.
"Again!" Mantis shouted. Po turned to look at the small, green bug on his shoulder and shouted back-
"I can do this!"
"Don't tell me!" Mantis shouted back, and he gestured to the mirror with his claw-thingy. "Tell him!"
Po looked back into the mirror and stared down his greatest opponent he would ever face: his own reflection.
"I can do this!"
"Louder!" the three of his friends shouted simultaneously.
"I can do this!"
"WHAT!?"
"I CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! COME ON, LET'S DO THIS!"
Po turned around and charged towards the door before having his arm pulled by a laughing Monkey.
"I like the enthusiasm, but we still gotta wait for two hours!"
"What?" Po asked in confusion. "Oh. Yeah."
Having all of the thunder taken out of him, he went back to his bed and sat on it, his friends quickly coming over to stand around him.
"So," Monkey asked. "How do you feel?"
Po could only laugh. After he finished, he pumped his fist.
"Like I can do this."
Jade Palace- Two Hours Before The Wedding
Up in the Jade Palace, Tigress was going through a very similar situation.
Viper was by her side in her room, finishing removing all of the make-up she had attempted to put on Tigress' face.
Tigress had suggested that they try some make-up, but when Viper had finished and Tigress had looked in the mirror, she had instantly regretted her decision, and Viper got to work undoing her previous thirty minutes of hard work.
She looked down at her flowing wedding dress, with it's white silk with a blue flower pattern and blue trimming. It seemed perfect, but Tigress still felt like something was missing. It wasn't quite as perfect as she had imagined.
"Tigress," Viper began, "I told you, it's okay, you look gorgeous."
Tigress lifted her paws and ran them down across her dress.
"I don't know. Something seems missing."
"Yeah, your confidence."
Tigress rolled her eyes as she turned in place, trying to examine all her sides with the mirror.
"No, no. The dress is nice, I'm really glad you picked it out, it's just-"
"It's just that you're nervous about getting married."
"No-"
"Yes! Of course you'd be nervous! It's okay. I can guarantee you that Po is going through the same exact thing right now."
Tigress tried to envision that in her head. She saw him and the boys of the Jade Palace goofing off in his room down in the noodle shop. Somehow, she didn't see him as worrying about anything. He was probably thinking of how awesome he and her would be together.
If only Tigress shared the same confidence.
"You don't believe me?" Viper asked.
"I'm trying really hard to believe you, Viper."
Viper gave an exasperated sigh and chucked. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter what Po's doing right now. You need to focus on you right now."
"Hmm-" Tigress began, but Viper already knew where she was going with it.
"Tigress, you punched the ironwood trees for twenty years. You pretty much beat Boar by yourself. You've protected the Valley, no, all of China, against multiple threats that would have succeeded if not for you. If you can do all of that, then surely you can take a few steps and say " I do."
"You make it sound so simple."
"That's because it is that simple."
"I'm just afraid that I'm not good enough for him. Po deserves…" Tigress was about to say "more," but Viper cut her off once again.
"Po deserves you, and you deserve him. Don't ever think you're not worth it Tigress. Because you are."
Tigress turned back away from the mirror to look at Viper. She extended her arms, and Viper took the cue, wrapping herself around her sister's leg and up her torso, eventually wrapping herself around Tigress' stomach and resting her head on her shoulder, and the two shared their last hug before the wedding.
It was a shame that it would actually be their last hug that would be shared out of happiness for a long, long, time.
The Valley Square- Thirty Minutes Before The Wedding
Shao stood in the ever-growing crowd, staring off into the distance and rooted to the spot.
This was it. He was here. Finally. He knew he should be happy, exhilarated even, but somehow, he only felt the shadow of dread looming over him.
People had been gathering in the Valley Square for the last hour. At first, they mingled with each other, sharing words and greetings. Eventually, there had been too many people to linger around, and everyone began to take the position they would watch the wedding from.
The Square was almost unrecognizable from its usual self. Where open streets once met together was now a space for people to crowd together, each trying to get their own view of the area in front of the Square. Decorations had been hung, red and gold paper lanterns strung across the two watchtowers. Shao had eyed the towers when he had finally entered, and he had noticed that the guards were not there today.
Still in the ever-growing crowd, Shao gently stuck his hoof inside of his white dress-robe. He reached down into the brim of his only pair of silk pants, and fingered the weapon. There it was, waiting to be pulled out and complete the job it had started with Master Croc.
His thoughts now on the kung-fu master, it occurred for the very first time that the words "I killed Master Croc" had never passed his mind. Croc was an enemy, a threat, and wasn't it natural for an enemy's murder to be acceptable? After all, Po had killed Tai Lung. He had killed Kai too. But Shao always thought that Po seemed like one of the jolliest and goofiest people in the world.
Did he ever regret what he did? Did the thought 'I killed somebody" ever go through his head?
Shao felt pretty confident the answer was no.
Reassured by this conclusion, Shao continued to do the only thing that was left for him to do. Wait.
He looked around, planning what he would do after he shot Tigress. He had gone over it in his head a million times. Maybe more. He would wait for her to reach the altar in front, stand still right in front of the crowd, and he would pull out his gun and shoot her just as they were making their vows.
Was it cowardly, Shao asked himself? Did it seem overly dramatic? Killing her right on the brink of the happiest moment of her life?
Yes, yes it was. But he couldn't think of too many other options, and quite frankly, the victim's satisfaction of her own death wasn't a high priority on the goat's to-do list.
The Outskirts of The Valley
Lianmin and Peng wiggled in place. They had been wiggling for the past hour or so.
"Any progress?" Lianmin asked, but she was only met with a frustrated sigh.
"I don't know. Maybe an inch."
Lianmin shook her head in defiance. "Well, it's one inch we didn't have before. Come on. Keep going."
After Lianmin had been knocked out in Qian's pharmacy, she had woken up in a small tent, her paws tied to a simple wooden post that held the tent up in the center. After calling out, she soon discovered that Peng was tied up just behind her, his back up against hers. They had tried to get a bearing on their surroundings when Duan Jing had walked in the dark tent, bringing a single torch with him to give the place some light.
He had mostly come to mock them. And given their status as captives, they weren't in much of a position to talk back. So they listened to his endless gloating sessions as he laid out before them what he considered an "ingenious" plan that would finally rid them of the Furious Five once and for all, allowing them to finally take over the Valley of Peace and divide the riches among themselves.
And, just so his captives never got bored, he was sure to constantly remind them that they were only alive so that they could be used later. He wasn't quite yet sure of what, but future hostages or ransom blackmailing sounded good to him. He told them that they wouldn't normally be kept in their settlement out in the outskirts of the Valley, but they wanted everything to be perfect for the Dragon Warrior's wedding day, and they couldn't afford minor distractions.
Ever since that first day, Lianmin and Peng had done all they could to escape. But they simply couldn't. They could only sit and wait. Twice a day, two bandits came in, a wolf and another leopard, to shove food down their unwilling mouths and to try to get them to drink water, only for Lianmin to spit it back in their faces most of the time. Normally, they would have taught her proper manners for a lady, but Duan Jing had been explicitly clear in his instructions that they were not to be touched. And the crocodile's wrath was not worth a brief moment of pleasure.
In between those times, the two had done the only thing they could to try and get free. Wiggle.
At first, they tried to use their claws, but they had tied their forearms to the beam that held up the tent, and not their paws. Eventually they had come to the conclusion that the only thing they could do was wiggle the ropes loose enough for them to free their paws. It would take a long time, but they knew if they did it for long enough, the ropes would eventually loosen. It wasn't a stellar plan, and they knew it, but the alternative was much worse.
Peng stopped, groaning with frustration as he tried to rest, his forehead drenched with sweat from so much wiggling.
"Come on Peng," Lianmin told him. "We have to get out of here as soon as possible and stop that wedding!"
Driven by his mother's words, he began to wiggle again, until an idea suddenly crossed his mind and he stopped again.
Lianmin sighed. "What is it now?"
Peng tried to stand up, the ropes now loose enough to slide up and down the beam instead of staying in place. Suddenly, Peng knew he could escape.
"I've got it, I've got it!" he shouted. "We don't need to get all the way loose!"
Excited that they were close to freedom, his mother quickly prodded him. "Well, whatever you're going to do, do it quickly so we can get out of here."
Peng narrowed his eyes as he focused. He stood up as tall as he could, letting the ropes holding his arms behind his back slide up all the way. He then put one foot on the beam, and then the other right above it, using the pressure from his feet and the ropes to stick to the beam. He then lifted one foot above the other, and he still stuck to the beam. Now on the verge of freedom, Peng lifted one foot in front of the other, sliding the ropes up as he walked himself up the wooden post. When he reached the top of the tent, he quickly pushed upwards, tearing the thick cloth that made up the walls of the tent from the pole, shooting his paws up and out of the beam, freeing himself.
Peng fell down to the ground again, but the torn cloth, now separated from the beam, began to fall as the tent collapsed. The cloth draped over him and his mother, and Peng had to lift up his paw in the air in order to see a small space around him.
"Mom?" he called out, trying to find her.
"Here!" she cried back. He turned to the side and took a few steps forward, where he found her still tied to the beam.
"Quickly!" she called out. The bandits would quickly see the collapse of their tent, and they didn't have much time now. Peng quickly reached out with one paw, unsheathing his claws, as he used the other paw to hold up the tarp from falling over his face. He used his claws to cut through his mother's bonds, and she was soon free.
Meanwhile, the two bandits who were closest to their tent, who were in charge of making sure they didn't escape, quickly ran up to it. The beam still stood up, but the tarp had fallen down all around it. They lifted up the tarp together, hoping that the two of them were still tied to the beam, and that only the tarp had fallen.
But there was nothing underneath the tarp.
"Where'd they go, man?" the wolf asked the leopard.
"I-I don't…" he couldn't make himself finish that sentence, as his mind had already drifted to the punishment he knew they would face.
Suddenly, a large plume of smoke began to rise from the leopard's tent, and as they watched it, it burst into flames.
The leopard gasped. He still had his fire going in his tent when he went to check on the noise of their captive's tent collapsing. And now it seemed like those same captives had gotten hold of that fire.
The leopard and the wolf quickly ran over to the burning tent, desperately looking around, trying to see if their captives were close by.
But they weren't.
Suddenly, towards the center of the large cluster of tents, one of them caught on fire. The wind suddenly picked up, and the sparks began to blow to other tents, easily igniting their flammable materials. Many of the other bandit members ran out of their tents, helpless as they watched their makeshift homes burn.
The wolf turned and looked around. "Uh-oh," was all he could say.
They were so dead.
The Valley of Peace- Wedding Ceremony
It was almost ready.
The crowd was now set in place. The square was bursting with an excited crowd, eagerly scanning all around them to be the first to see the Dragon Warrior or Master Tigress.
Within the crowd, Li Shan was standing head and shoulders above everyone else. On his left shoulder sat Lei Lei, who had desperately wanted to see what was happening but was far too small to see over anyone's butts. Lei Lei was about to explode with the sheer joy and excitement of the celebration. To her, Stripy Baby and Cuddles were finally going to be together, and she now never had to worry about choosing to be with one or the other. She could just be with both!
On Li Shan's right shoulder, however, was a rather embarrassed Mr. Ping.
The goose had objected to the idea of being on anyone's shoulder at first, but he had been desperate when he realized he couldn't see very much, as the dozens of pigs in front of him had a slight height advantage.
As he had been jumping up and down, he had desperately asked Li Shan, "What's happening!? Tell me what's happening!"
Li Shan had only smiled and looked down at the goose. "Would you like me to describe it to you, or would you like me to get you a box?"
Mr. Ping had glared daggers at the panda, but, after a similar arrangement, he soon found himself high above the pigs and bunnies that made up most of the crowd.
The other pandas were in the crowd, but given how they would take up a lot of space and obstruct a lot of peoples' views, they mostly were gathered in the back, excitedly chatting among themselves. The son of Li Shan was to be married. They were so proud of Po; so proud that one of their own had done so much and gone so far with his life.
They could hardly wait to see what he would do with the rest of his life.
Also scattered among the crowd were villagers, merchants, government officials, and people from many surrounding villages and cities. There were many other animals besides the usual population of pigs and bunnies. There were goats, sheep, leopards, lions, and many other species scattered throughout. Some, such as the simpler villagers, were dressed in a simple fashion, wearing the best clothing they had available to them. Some, such as the government officials, wore fine silk clothing, with a different color trim on the inside of their clothes. Truly, people from all over had come to witness this historic event.
But in this crowd, filled with excited spectators, was one individual. He was also excited, but not in the same way everyone else was.
The goat had broken out in a nervous sweat about twenty minutes ago.
He was here. This was the time. The final decision was on his shoulders. He could do it once and for all, and finally achieve his goals of protecting everyone from the monster he was sure Tigress really was.
Or he could not do it. But somehow, he knew that if he didn't do it now, he would never get the courage again. He would merely live in regret for the rest of his life, living with the knowledge that he already started his mission with Master Croc, but never finished it, possibly endangering everyone in the Valley.
He reached into his rope for the eleventh time since he'd arrived. He knew that his gun was still stuffed in the brim of his pants, but his paranoia had begun to set in, and he felt compelled to make sure it was still there every two minutes or so. He reached to the side of it, and felt another object. The handle of a dagger. Just in case.
Gong!
Suddenly, everyone turned to the front of the Square, where the ringing of the gong had brought them to silence.
Approaching from behind the crowd, the groom approached. The crowd parted to each side, creating an aisle in between them. They quietly ooh'd and aah'd as the Dragon Warrior himself, Grandmaster Oogway's chosen one, walked among them, but they made sure not to disturb the sacred silence too greatly.
The Dragon Warrior was dressed in a flowing silk robe of white and gold, complete with a cape. He stood up tall, but walked slowly, taking his time. A smile was on his face, but not his usual confident smile. No, this one carried just a hint of fear behind his apparent happiness. His eyes darted between the crowd and the ground in front of him. He looked at the crowd because he knew they liked it, but he looked at the ground because he was afraid he might trip on his cape and look really stupid.
Finally, he approached the end of the aisle and reached the front row, where he took his place next to his friends, Masters Monkey, Mantis, Crane, and Viper. His friends silently smiled at Po, nodding. Po nervously smiled back. The exchange may not have looked like much, but his friends' silent support meant the world to him. Getting himself mentally prepared, Po turned back around to face the back of the aisle.
The crowd had only thought they had been in awe. But when Master Tigress came out and approached the crowd, a hush fell upon a whispering crowd as all thoughts of the Dragon Warrior's impressiveness was washed from their minds.
She looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown, with its white silk flowing behind her and the blue flowering pattern seemingly coming to life as she slowly walked forward. Next to her was Shifu, who was doing his very best to lock his arm around his daughter's, but with their height difference, it was difficult. But between Shifu's stern, yet proud gaze, and Tigress' breathtaking beauty, no one seemed to notice the slightly awkward position the two of them were in.
Tigress had a slightly different look on her face than her future husband did. Whereas he was mostly happy, and only a little apprehensive, Tigress had dropped all sense of fear from her demeanor. She oozed with confidence, both eager to join the love of her life forever, but also willing to savor this one moment in time that she knew she would never get to live again.
When Po caught sight of her, he could feel the weight fall off of his shoulders. If Tigress could be that confident in him, then maybe, just maybe, he was enough for her.
She walked through the aisle with her father, slowly taking each step. Each step was both so agonizing yet so satisfying for Po, who wanted Tigress to be with him but also wanted to take in her as she was right now, and remember it forever.
Finally, father and daughter reached the end of the aisle, and Shifu let go of his daughter's arm with a proud smile. He knew he was letting her go in more ways than one.
But she was not alone for long, as Po quickly took her by the paws, and the two of them walked up to the altar.
Shifu quickly walked around the other side, climbing up a step-stool they had made just for the occasion so that he was at eye-level with his daughter and future son-in-law.
Po and Tigress took their places in front of the altar, jade eyes staring into amber ones, holding paws for what seemed like forever, until Shifu finally cleared his throat.
But there was really no need, as the awed silence was already total.
"Dearly beloved," he began, "We are gathered here today…"
Shao had watched the entire thing in a constant state of agony. Tigress had only been a few feet away from him when she passed by in the aisle. So close, so close! But not yet.
As Shifu continued his speech, Shao's ears saw his lips move up and down, but he didn't hear anything. The goat's own ears were ringing much too loudly for them to pick up on any other sound. He desperately wanted to think about it; to reason it out just one more time and convince himself he was doing the right thing. But time just seemed to fly, and the goat's mind just seemed blank.
All too soon, the words came, and Po suddenly said-
"I do."
This kind of snapped Shao out of his trance, and he looked back up at the ceremony. But when he saw Tigress, his mind drifted to that same tiger cup in the orphanage, the one with bloody teeth and claws, a wounded victim laying there at her feet.
He could only see a monster.
He slowly reached into his robe and felt for the handle of the weapon.
Back at the altar, Tigress smiled. It was a soft smile. Not the kind she gave when Po told a really stupid joke, but a rare kind she saved for when she was truly happy.
"And do you, Tigress," Shifu began, "take Po Ping as your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
"I do," she said.
Po's heart was about to explode with joy, and he eagerly awaited Shifu's approaching words.
But first thing was first.
"If anyone has any cause as to why these two shall not be joined together in holy matrimony, speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Once again, there was total silence, although everyone could sense the general breath that everyone seemed to be holding.
"Very well. You may kiss the bride."
Po was about to lean forward and do exactly that, but something suddenly flashed in the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his eye to the side to gaze upon the crowd. What had he seen? It was almost as if a piece of metal had suddenly hit the Sun's rays and glinted its light in his eyes.
Then, he saw it. There, in the crowd. A long, wooden object, with an empty hole on the far end, allowing someone to peer down the length of it. Po didn't know what it was, but it reminded him of something all too familiar. Shen's cannons.
He didn't even have time to see who was holding it. But he saw where it was pointing.
Right at his wife.
Pushing all logical thought aside, Po suddenly charged forward, diving in front of his wife just as a deafening-
BAM!
-was heard.
The sound split right through the silence, disrupting everyone's trance-like focus on what was in front of them. They looked around for the source of the noise, but they found nothing, and the scene in front of them was much more eye-grabbing.
On the front of the Square, Po had fallen to the ground. Tigress, suddenly remembering the presence of an assassin in the Valley, feared the worst. She quickly got down on her knees and tried to shake Po, but he didn't get up.
Tigress instantly grabbed Po's shoulder and flipped him over so that he was lying on his back.
When she did so, some screams erupted from the crowd, and the rest looked on in shock.
Po was bleeding heavily from his chest, the blood leaking onto his clothes and staining them red. His face was contorted in pain and concentration, as he couldn't seem to catch his breath.
Tigress didn't even know what had happened. Shifu and the Five were instantly by the panda's side, looking down at him with horror.
"What happened?" Viper quickly asked.
Shifu looked back up at the crowd, his eyes now scanning them for something specific.
There. Towards the side of the crowd. The back of a goat's head as he shoved his way past shocked onlookers.
Shifu's rage suddenly came to the center of his mind and took control of him. Someone had just tried to kill his daughter, and had still wounded his son-in-law.
"There!" he shouted, not waiting for the Five to see where he meant by that as he jumped into the crowd and dashed after the fleeing killer.
The Five, as well as the rest of the crowd, looked to where he was heading, and they too saw the fleeing goat just as he escaped the mass of the crowd, fleeing into one of the guard towers on the sides. He shoved the door open and quickly threw it shut behind him, but Shifu was already close on his heels.
The crowd was simply shocked in place, too stunned to do anything. At the same time, the Five had a split-decision to make. They could either tend to the wounded Po, or they could help Shifu in catching the person who had tried to murder him.
But it only took that same split-second for Tigress to realize what had happened.
A person had just hurt what was hers.
Tigress felt a sense of protective rage burn inside of her like a wildfire, but when she looked down at the gasping panda, all her thoughts changed to doing what she could to save him. But she quickly looked up at the Five and shouted-
"GO! GET HIM!"
The Five spurred into action, quickly following the assassin and their master in the guard tower.
Meanwhile, Shao had been running on pure terror-induced adrenaline.
The instant that the gun went off, something inside Shao simply broke. Because Po had jumped in the way, and he had been hit. An innocent person.
He had just killed an innocent person.
In truth, Shao had just enough time to get a second shot off. He could have shot Tigress as she bent down over Po. The thought briefly crossed his mind when something inside of him, something deep inside of him, the same thing that had been warning him against his whole plan since the very beginning, seemed to make its final stand.
It simply said, "No."
For once, he actually decided to listen to that voice. So he put his gun down, and he ran.
Shao now found himself inside a rather unexciting building, although its plain decor was the least of his worries as he fled through its halls, taking random lefts and rights through them, trying to lose his pursuer. He had a good head start, and he quickly stole a few glances behind him just to see, but he couldn't see Shifu behind him. Yet, at least.
Meanwhile, Shifu had entered the building, silently cursing the fact that they had emptied it of the guards who usually resided there on account of the wedding. He quickly scanned the branching hallways from the main lobby he was in, and as he did so, the Five came storming in, surrounding him.
"Where is he?" the Five simultaneously asked, all out to end this threat once and for all.
Shifu quickly glanced around, unsure of the answer. "Spread out. Find him!"
And that's exactly what they did. They each took off in a different direction, determined to find the goat.
Meanwhile, Shao had finally found the wooden staircase and began to sprint his way up it, hoping that he would be able to lose the Five if he had multiple levels to work with. He ran to the top of the second story and flew through the door. He took a left and kept on running, when suddenly, though what must have been another stairwell, another door flew open and Master Monkey came flying through it, his eyes flashing with revenge as he spotted the goat.
They were separated by a distance of about twenty yards, and Shao had just enough time to stop on a dime and turn back the way he came before Monkey caught up with him.
He quickly ran back to the staircase that he came from, throwing open the door and doing the only thing he could think of to escape, as he knew he couldn't out run a kung-fu master.
At the beginning of the descending staircase, Shae threw his paws on the side rail and jumped up, lifting his bottom hooves over the rail and letting himself fall. His impact was broken by the second half of the returning staircase and once again by the floor below.
He grimaced in pain, but quickly rolled underneath the side of the staircase that Monkey would soon appear from. Just as Shao disappeared from sight to anyone on the second level of the staircase, Monkey burst through the door, quickly seeing that Shao wasn't running down the bottom stairwell, and assumed that he must have run up the stairwell. He quickly ran up the staircase, his quick footsteps fading from the goat's hearing.
Taking his opportunity, Shao got up and ran back out into the hallway in the first level of the building. He gave a quick look to his right and left to make sure that no one saw him, and he was quickly on his way again, desperately trying to find the exit before another one found him. After a few turns, he could finally see a door that was thicker than the rest. Finally, he thought! A way out!
He sprinted towards the door, not bothering to open the handle but rather slamming his shoulder into it, bursting it open.
Shao was now on the opposite side of the building. It led to the next street that ran parallel to the Village Square, but never met with it directly. Fortunately, it was empty, as everyone was fleeing up and down the street that connected the Square.
Just as Shao began to run again, he noticed something. Down the street, he saw a wolf, sprinting away from the building he just left on all fours. He didn't have too much time to contemplate the meaning of it when an sky-cracking-
BOOM!
-was heard and Shao was suddenly thrown forward into the air several meters, only to hit the hard ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, just as the Five had left to chase after the killer, Tigress had bent over Po, looking at his wound and judging how bad it was. The people in the crowd had begun to realize it was not safe, and they began to flee the Square, running away into the two streets leading up and down from the Square. Even Li Shan and Mr. Ping, who desperately wanted to see their son and make sure he was okay, felt the need to protect Lei Lei and get her out of the dangerous environment before they could do so.
"Po!" Tigress called to the panda. When the panda kept on panting and looking up into the sky, she gently cupped his face with her paw and tilted his head. "Po, look at me!" she yelled.
Po's eyes finally met hers, and he looked up at her with a sad smile. He slowly took her own paw in his own, and tried to speak.
"T-Ti-"
"-Don't talk," Tigress interrupted. She tore open Po's silk outfit and looked at the wound.
It was only getting worse. The blood was beginning to pool around his chest, and Tigress couldn't tell where he had been hit.
Po suddenly burst out in a strong coughing fit as he struggled for a gasp of air.
"Tigress…" he weakly got out.
"No," she replied back, her eyes welling up with tears as she began to realize what might just happen. Po wasn't just wounded.
He was about to die.
But what could she do? His wound couldn't just be bandaged and be over with. There was too much blood coming out. And she still didn't know exactly what he had been hit with. It seemed similar to an arrow wound, but there was nothing sticking out of him and nothing nearby. She could think of no medical solution to save him.
Then, Tigress got an idea.
As Po continued to try and speak, Tigress closed her eyes and tried her very best to calm herself down. She used one paw to raise Po's head off of the ground, and she held her other paw out to the wound, not touching it, but letting it hover over it instead. She tried to focus her chi; to use it to heal Po's wound in a way that medicine could not.
The only unfortunate part was that Tigress had not even made her paw glow since Kai. She had been much too preoccupied with dealing with her own feelings to focus on her chi again.
But she had to do it now. For Po.
Po seemed to understand what she was trying to do, and he stopped trying to speak.
As the fleeing crowd began to get further and further away, the Square became strangely empty, so unlike just a few minutes ago. Tigress tried to focus on her breathing, and she tried to focus on her love for Po. She pushed aside thoughts of what had just happened and the killer, and just focused her thoughts on Po.
A small glow of golden light suddenly appeared on her paw. She risked a peek, but when she saw it, she almost didn't believe it, and it faded away.
Now confident that she could do it, she tried again, closing her eyes. She tried to focus on Po again, but his breathing began to grow more and more labored, and the impending threat of his death began to break Tigress' concentration, and she could not generate enough focus to heal him. This only frustrated and upset Tigress even more than she already was, creating a vicious downward spiral.
Po could see her face quivering, and he took her paw in his once again.
"Tigress," he weakly managed to say after a few attempts at moving his lips without any sound coming out of them.
Tigress had now let go; her tears were flowing freely down her face. She couldn't believe it. Just on the cusp of eternal happiness, and now it might be taken from her. Po might be taken from her.
But she had to cling to what little hope she had. So she tried her best to put on a straight face and be strong for Po. She wanted him to survive as long as he could until they could get help and a healer or doctor could see him. She took his head in her arms and cradled Po.
"Yes, Po?" she asked, her voice still breaking up despite her strong effort.
Po gave a weak smile. "I-It's- It's okay, Tigress." His words were strangely peaceful.
But Tigress knew what he meant by that. Her eyes began to quiver again as she fought back sobs.
"No, no, Po! You can't leave me!"
She was sobbing now.
"P-Po? Come o-on, we j-just need to wait for help, okay?"
Po once again fell into another coughing fit, and Tigress noticed that the blood was only getting worse. Po's face had broken out in a heavy sweat, his face growing pale, and his usually active eyes were beginning to slowly dim.
After he finished coughing, he weakly shook his head.
Tigress violently shook her head. "No! NO! You can't give up!"
Po only smiled again. His breathing became louder and more labored.
"I-I- I love you." Po closed his eyes and slightly tilted his head back. Tigress was confused for a second, until she realized Po wanted her to kiss him.
So Tigress complied, willing to do anything and everything if it would help Po find the will to stay alive for just a little longer.
She lifted Po's head up in her arms and bent down, kissing him. Po tried to kiss her back, but it was weak. Using the last of his strength, Po took his free paw and put it on the back of Tigress' head, gently cradling it.
The two never had the chance to kiss before the shooting.
And now, as Po lay dying, he kissed the love of his life one more time.
And in that moment, Po Ping and Master Tigress were married. They had become husband and wife.
Their kiss was interrupted when an ear-splitting-
BOOM!
-came from the watchtower that Shifu and the Five had chased the killer into. The force of the explosion blasted Tigress back a few feet, and sent Po in a different direction, who limply flew through the air.
Tigress lay dazed on the ground for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what had just happened. She gazed up at the peaceful blue sky above her, trying to get her mind back together again. She finally gathered enough wits about her to roll over and try and stand back up. When she did, she looked up at the building that had exploded.
It was collapsed. And her family had just gone inside that building.
Before Tigress could expand on that thought, she caught sight of Po from the corner of her eye. She quickly ran over to the panda, who was lying on the ground face-first, his limbs sprawled out awkwardly.
"Po!" she yelled out as she bent down and rolled Po over. When she saw his face, his eyes were closed, and she knew.
Po Ping was dead.
"Po?" she gently asked, denying what she saw. But Po did not wake.
"Po?" she asked again, gently picking him up in her arms and shaking him. He still did not wake.
As all her walls collapsed, Tigress shook Po much harder, screaming at the top of her lungs. "PO! PO! WAKE UP!"
But he still laid there, limp in her arms.
Her sobs came back in full force. "P-Po! Don't go! DON'T LEAVE! DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T GO! PO!"
Upon finally accepting the truth, Tigress completely broke down into sobs, pressing her face next to Po's, her hot tears falling down her face and onto his.
She wailed and sobbed over her husband's body, no thoughts running through her head. She only felt her heart being ripped out from her chest.
Finally, after a few minutes, Tigress lifted her face up from Po's and looked back into the collapsed building. The rubble was total, there were no remnants of the building, or the buildings to the side of it, for that matter.
Her family had been in there. And no one was coming towards her. That meant that…
When Tigress reached that conclusion, her brain almost seemed to stop functioning. Almost moving on their own accord, Tigress' arms gently laid Po back down on the ground. Tigress' field of vision began to darken, and she began to see only red. She didn't know it, but her pupils were beginning to turn into slits, and a deep growl began to form in her throat. As it went on, Tigress simply blacked out and did not remember what happened next.
Tigress' mouth broke out in a savage growl, foam forming at the edges of her lips and her growl coming out. She bent forward on all fours, and her claws seemed to unsheathe themselves from her front paws.
Driven by nothing but sheer rage at what had just been taken from her, Tigress gave a primal roar. The kind that put the roar of all other species to shame. Nothing was as terrifying as the roar she gave on that day.
Shao finally opened his eyes and stared up at the sky.
"Where am I?" he briefly wondered. Why was he waking up in the middle of the street?
Suddenly, he remembered.
"Oh, f-" he decided not to finish that thought as the full impact of what just happened came to him. He scrambled up, sudden jolts of pain shooting up his right ankle and up his calf.
"Ah!" he yelled out. "Shit!"
It burned with a vengeance, but he could still put a little weight on it. It must have only been lightly sprained, he thought. If it was broken, there would be no way he would have even gotten up.
Shao finally looked up at the building he had just ran out of.
It had been reduced to rubble, piling up in the middle like a very flat pyramid, with spurts of flame still burning in some places.
"What happened?" he wondered. Then, he remembered the wolf that had run away just as he had left the building.
And the memory of Qian asking him to step out of the store came back to his mind in full force.
Shao shook his head and closed his eyes, wanting desperately to deny the obvious.
"So that's what you've been up to lately. Using me as your pawn. Qian, you bastard, if I live through this, I swear I'm going to take this weapon- this curse that you've given me- and I'm going to blow your brains out just like I did to Master Croc."
Trying to shake his vengeful thoughts from his head and get a bearing on his situation, Qian looked back up at the building. No one had come out of the rubble, no one was running over it to catch him.
"Are they… dead?" Shao thought. All of them? Master Shifu had been in there. Master Monkey had been in there. Master Viper had been in there. Master Crane had been in there. Master Mantis had been in there.
They were dead. And it was his fault.
When the realization of his own actions truly presented themselves to the goat, he sank to his knees and stared at the damage.
"They were innocent," he thought to himself. "And now, I killed all of them except the one I meant to."
Memories of the Soothsayer's warning came back to him. He thought about that warning, and now wished how he had listened to it.
Shao looked back up and spoke out loud.
"I'm a monster."
He said it with shock, as if he couldn't believe it, but deep down, he knew that warning had come true. He would create the monster he set out to destroy. And it was him.
Suddenly, before Shao had any more time to feel any worse than he already did, a orange-and-black striped blur came flying over the rubble, stopping once it reached the top, searching around for its prey.
When it stopped, Shao could not believe his eyes. Master Tigress was bent over on all fours, her eyes pure slits, foam dripping out of her snarling mouth, her blue wedding dress torn and stained with blood. She looked little better than her ancestors, and would have been unrecognizable from them if not for the torn clothing on her. But even in her current state, Shao could still see the look of pure rage on her contorted features. And finally, after a split-second of searching, her eyes found exactly what they were looking for.
A scared little goat.
She suddenly took off again, sprinting full speed right at him. They were about twenty meters away, but she would make short work of them if he didn't move. His survival instincts kicking in, Shao quickly scrambled up to his feet and began hobbling the best he could away from the savage creature about to make him nothing more than a bloody stain on the street.
He didn't look behind him, as he knew he needed to use his head start to get to some building or other before she caught up with him, which he knew wouldn't be too long. Fortunately for him, the other side of the now-collapsed guard tower led to a street, and buildings and alleyways were close by on the other side. Shao quickly hobbled towards it, deciding to run in the alleyways, as he couldn't risk heading for a building only for it to be locked.
Just as he started for the alleyway, he had just made the entrance when he heard some quick footsteps gaining on him. The thought suddenly shot through his head that she couldn't be on him yet; she had been much too far away only two seconds ago.
He decided to risk turning his head around. There was a blue and red blur leaping up, seemingly flying towards him as it pinned Shao on his back on the ground. Strangely enough, instead of biting his throat out, it only tightly grasped his paws, keeping them pinned together against his back. Tigress wouldn't be doing that, he thought...
"I got you now, you murderer," he heard a voice say with no small amount of satisfaction. He recognized that voice. It was the voice of that kid who had broken into his house along with his mother.
Peng sat on top of Shao, turning around as he looked at his approaching mother. But he saw something else approaching too…
"What the hell…?" Lianmin asked herself just as she reached her son. She saw Tigress sprinting towards the entrance of the alleyway, but it was not the same Tigress that they knew. She had become degraded to nothing more than a blood-thirsty animal.
And she had her sights set on the goat.
Lianmin attempted to step in front of both the goat and her own son, holding her paws up.
"Master Tigress!" she called out as she approached, hoping that she would recognize that he had already been caught.
But as Tigress kept on sprinting at them, Lianmin saw her face and knew that no words would have any effect on her.
Tigress was upon them now, and she looked up and saw Lianmin. She didn't recognize her, and the only thing she knew was that she was keeping her away from her prey. Tigress leaped up, her claws extended and a roar ripping its way out of her throat.
Lianmin moved her paws up just in time to catch Tigress' own, and used her own momentum to sling her into one of the walls in the alley. The creature before them slammed into the wall with a sickening crack, and she fell to the floor, dazed for a second.
Lianmin looked up at her son, who had been watching with pure shock on his face.
"GO! Take him and get out of here! NOW!"
Peng instantly obeyed his mother's instructions, taking the goat up on his shoulders, the cowering goat not even trying to escape. Peng began running away, but as he ran, he looked back to see what was happening between his mother and Master Tigress.
Tigress quickly recovered from her dazed status, and once again tried to leap on his mother. This time, she couldn't hold off Tigress' strength, and she fell on top of Lianmin. The leopardess put all of her strength in gripping Tigress' paws and preventing them from slicing open her throat, but Tigress didn't need her claws, as she bent down and bit Lianmin's shoulder with her razor-sharp fangs, eliciting a scream from the leapardess.
In that second, time seemed to freeze for Peng. He had a decision to make. Secure the killer, or go back and help his mother.
He instantly made his decision.
He dumped the goat off of him like a sack of rice, getting down on all fours and sprinting towards the two felines as fast as he could.
As Tigress and Lianmin struggled, Peng quickly tackled Tigress off of his mother and the two went rolling for a few feet. But Tigress found her feet much faster than Peng did, and Lianmin was still shook up from the gash in her shoulder.
But Tigress was not interested in either one of them. She quickly sprinted past them, flying through the alleyway at the goat that was now hobbling his way through it. The goat looked back, and saw Tigress closing the gap between them with fighting speed. He turned back around, but there was nothing. No doors, no turns, no exits. Only a straight path ahead.
He was trapped.
But he refused to accept death so quickly, and he gave a final surge forward, almost sprinting at full speed despite his ankle exploding with pain.
But it was not enough. He suddenly was knocked down from behind by a pair of paws, and he rolled on the ground a few feet. He quickly scrambled back up as soon as he could, just in time to see Tigress swinging her paw right at his face, claws extended.
Shao had just enough time to lower his head, putting his horns forward. But he could not move his head back far enough to save his horns.
Tigress' paw just missed his face, instead smashing right into his horn.
Shao screamed with agony, as he had never felt pain like that before. There was a loud crack as he suddenly felt something pull down on one side of his head, and realized that she had snapped his horn clean off. But he had little time to process the pain any further, as Tigress quickly pounced on him again, pinning his back to the ground. She lowered her head, her maw wide open, about to tear out the goat's throat, but Shao made one last effort as he grabbed her face, holding it just far enough from his neck.
Pulling out his last idea, Shao thrust his left elbow forward, smacking Tigress in the face and buying him a precious half-second to shove his right hoof into the brim of his pants. He grasped the handle of the dagger, and just as Tigress regained her composure and bent down to finish him, the goat wildly swung the dagger upwards, getting lucky and cutting through the surface of Tigress' face, slicing her upper cheek and cutting right through her eye and part of her forehead.
The tiger yelped in pain and loosened her grip on the goat, allowing Shao to shove her off as she covered her eye with her paws. He scrambled back up again and began running away once more.
Meanwhile, Tigress was in extreme pain, as her eye had just been cut through and was no longer usable. But soon, her rage boiled through the pain and she tried to get back up again and kill the goat once and for all, but she was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted up in the air.
Lianmin screamed out both in pain and effort as Tigress struggled in her arms, scratching through her forearms as Lianmin tightened her grip on Tigress' torso. She couldn't hold her up for long, and Tigress soon landed back on the ground, and the two thrashed around, slamming into the walls numerous times.
Finally, Lianmin saw Peng sprinting at them out of the corner of her eye, and she put all her strength into holding Tigress as still as was humanly possible.
She held him, facing Peng, and he came flying in, sending a punch right at her torso, trying to land it just right.
Fortunately for him and his mother, it landed perfectly. The blow sent a wave of blue energy shooting out from the impact of his fist, and Tigress suddenly dropped down on the ground like a stone as her nerves froze up from Peng's successful nerve attack.
It was done. Over. Finished.
Peng and Lianmin bent down, resting their paws on their knees as they panted, the consequences of the situation finally beginning to dawn on them.
They had been too late to stop the wedding. And now everyone, except for Tigress, was dead. And the goat had slipped from their grasp once again.
Peng looked down at Tigress, first feeling a spark of anger, but it soon gave way to a feeling of deep regret. He couldn't blame her for what she just did. It was his fault her family was dead. If he hadn't barged into the pharmacy and gotten him and his mother kidnapped, they could have prevented the whole thing from happening. But, instead, the Valley had lost its protectors, and with only Master Tigress left, the bandits would surely conquer the village.
He looked up at his mother, who was still trying to catch her breath, painfully gripping her shoulder.
"What do we do now?" he asked her.
Lianmin shook her head. "I don't know."
He gestured down to Tigress. "And what about her?"
She shook her head again. "Leave her. When she wakes up, I'm sure she'll be much more reasonable."
She gestured Peng to come to her, and the two embraced, both shaking, letting the fear and danger of what they had just gone through fall away from them for just a few seconds.
But, it couldn't last forever. They finally backed out of their hug, and they walked together out of the alleyway.
When they reached the street, people were beginning to filter in from all directions, looking at the collapsed building with fear and confusion. Mr. Ping was among the few stragglers, and he instantly recognized the two leopards, and he quickly ran over to them.
"What happened!?" he cried. "Are they…"
Lianmin looked down at the goose as tears began to well in his eyes. He continued.
"I-I- Li and I took Lei Lei away after Po fell, and-and I told him to stay with her, but w-what happened to the building!?"
Lianmin gave a deep sigh of sorrow and regret, her ears flattening themselves on the top of her head.
"Mr. Ping, I hate to have to tell you that everyone except for Master Tigress…" She looked at Mr. Ping's shattered face, and almost couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. But she had to.
"-is dead."
Mr. Ping began to quiver, and he was just about to break down when a deep voice cut through the air.
"There they are!"
The three of them turned around, only to see none other than Master Ox and the Soothsayer, the old goat hobbling towards them as fast as she could.
They stopped and gasped when they saw the damage.
"We-we're too late," Ox softly muttered.
Tears were building in the Soothsayer's eyes as Lianmin, Peng, and Mr. Ping approached them.
"What are you doing here?" Lianmin asked.
The Soothsayer was too distraught to answer, so Master Ox replied-
"When we received news of your wedding, she looked into the future again and told me we had to get here as soon as possible. But-"
"-But my visions always come true," the Soothsayer interrupted, her voice breaking up with choked sobs.
"Wait, you knew this would happen?" Lianmin asked.
The Soothsayer shook her head. "No. There were many possibilities. But too many of them ended in tragedy. I thought we could make it in time, but-"
"-But you failed again, and your vision came true anyway," Peng suddenly interrupted her, his anger rising. Peng was feeling so much guilt for his own actions that he had reached the point where he was willing to lash out at anyone else who may have been to blame.
The group all looked at Peng with shock, not believing his sudden insult to the old lady. But their stares didn't seem to deter him as he carried on.
"You knew this would happen! What good are your gifts if you can't prevent what happens!?" Peng shouted at her, his anger rising more and more.
Master Ox had had enough, and he stepped forward, ready to defend his life-long friend.
"Listen to me, you little-"
"-No" the Soothsayer interrupted. "No. He's right. I'm worthless. I'll be happy when death finally relieves me of my second sight…" suddenly, the old goat looked back up again, determined to not fall apart in front of them and to salvage what was left of the situation. "...But today is not that day. And I have a warning to give you."
Master Ox stepped back, and the tension in the group slightly lessened. The small group of civilians getting the courage to come back to the site of the explosion had grown, and many people had now surrounded them, overhearing everything in a hushed silence.
"What?" Lianmin asked with some contempt. Po, Shifu, and the Five were dead. Tigress was practically a savage animal as far as they knew. The goat had escaped. How could it possibly get any worse?
The Soothsayer closed her eyes, remembering what she had seen in that mist. Finally, she remembered, and she entered that same trance-like state she had when she was witnessing the secrets that the future held for them all.
When she opened her eyes, everyone noticed her new demeanor. Master Ox tensed up, as she had only done this one other time. And only two weeks after she had done it the first time, Lord Shen had killed Master Thundering Rhino and imprisoned him and Master Croc.
She began to speak, her voice hollow. "Beware when things start to change. Friends will become estranged; a creature born of love and sorrow, watch the hero who loses their way, and a predator raised for his prey."
She suddenly snapped out of her trance, blinking and looking around again.
There was a brief moment of silence before Peng lifted his paws up. "Okay, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
An argument was about to break out among them again, when suddenly, a loud-
Gong!
-was heard. The village warning bell. Only this time, it wasn't being rung to signal an attack. It was being rung to honor the ones who had always come to the Valley's aid when it was under attack. One ring for each fallen master.
Everyone became silent. Some bowed their heads, some closed their eyes, but all were silent as they payed their final respects to some of the greatest kung-fu masters of all time.
Gong!
Gong!
Gong!
Gong!
Gong!
And that is it! And we are now complete! Woohoo! (I know I sound really happy for what was a really not-so-happy ending, but I'm so happy to have gotten this far).
A special thank you to my co-author, Frozenwolfheart22, who may be growing tired of my constant 'thank you's' but is going to keep getting them anyway. My co-author was a major help in this chapter, especially with the final prophecy scene. Thanks!
Also, a minor side note: we just barely snagged 100,000 words with this chapter! Let's go!
Like I said, after this, I'll be taking a break from this story, as I've just marathon-ed my way through more than ten chapters of this. I really could use a break.
Well, thank you all so much for reading this far, and I hope you all stick around for Part 2! Here's to one hundred thousand more words!
Keep being awesome!