Ch.1: Peace and Stability
The shadow of the Jade Palace fell over the Valley of Peace as the sun began to set. The once tall and mighty mountains were humbled to silhouettes. The fluorescent moonlight reflected off of the pillars surrounding the courtyard bringing notice to every fine detail that was offered from the designs. The pandas and villagers in the courtyard of the Jade Palace mingled amongst one another. Some climbed the walls and watched as the wave of gold stroked the plains in the far east. Po was sitting on the edge of the Thousand Steps admiring what the valley had done together. As the gleaming wave of Chi finally dipped below the horizon, Po let out a sigh of contentment. He got up and made his way back through the front gate and into the courtyard. He could barely contain his excitement. A dumb grin plastered over his face let everyone else know that too.
"Guys! That was so cool!" Po called out to the Furious Five whom were conversing on the ledge overlooking the area. Master Shifu started forward sage-like, "Yes, Dragon Warrior. Indeed a very impressive demonstration from the villagers and pandas!"
Po noticed the feline's absence from the group. "What happened to Tigress?" he asked.
The group hadn't taken a thought to her whereabouts, but Viper motioned towards the pupils' barracks. "I think she headed to her room. It was a very rough few days after all. Especially with all of this traveling. I'm sure she is worn out." Tigress had volunteered to be on lookout every night as the pandas traveled from the village to the Valley of Peace. She hadn't gotten any sleep on the way. She of course was a warrior trained to be awake for multiple nights, but it didn't help that this weighing premonition lurked over her. She didn't know what she felt, she only knew that good was not what it entailed. A small lamplight filled Tigress' room and leaked out the window ajar. It was noticeable that she hadn't fallen asleep yet.
"I'm gonna go talk to her, see how she's feeling," Po said with a subtle bit of melancholy.
Monkey quickly jumped in to share his thought that he just couldn't keep to himself. "You don't have to! We already know that she doesn't feel anything!" Crane and Mantis let out a soft giggle at Monkey's statement. Viper let out a hiss. Po, however, didn't relay the same reaction. Seemingly unphased, Po began his way towards the steps to the students' rooms. He was focused on trying to make his way up until he was interrupted.
"Po!" a familiar goose yelled out, "Oh, Po. Where are you going? Aren't you going to say goodnight to your father before I leave? It's bad enough that I don't see you every night!" Only a voice like Mr. Ping's could break Po from such a daze as his.
"Sorry, Dad." Po's mind wandered back to the morning of the day he was chosen as the Dragon Warrior: falling down the stairs from his room to the kitchen to see Mr. Ping carrying pots. 'Sorry' doesn't make the noodles.
His father's voice once again broke him away from his thoughts. " 'Sorry' doesn't give me a hug. Now come here, I've missed you." Po gave his dad a quick embrace. He didn't want to waste any more time than he had to before Tigress dozed off.
"Look, Dad, I'm sorry but I need to go do something."
"Oh, you're right! Tonight you get to spend the night with me at the noodle shop!"
"No. Dad that's not…"
"Yes! I also wanted to thank you for your little demonstration of Chi. It was great business! I say every villager in town bought a bowl of my Secret Ingredient Soup!"
"Look, Dad…"
"Oh, don't worry Po. I'm sure whatever it is that you need to do, Shifu can let you do tomorrow."
It was apparent that Po wasn't getting out of it this time. He tried turning around to check if Tigress' light was still on in her room, but darkness was the only thing, besides a few peachtree petals, filling the void. Deflated, Po reluctantly followed his dad down the Thousand Steps and through the crowds of bunnies and pigs cheering for him.
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Tigress was strolling along the path to the barracks. All of the flowers and plants along the path that had once been signaling the end of their life were fully bloomed and beautiful. Every dull color that sprayed the path was now saturated with energy and almost glowing. The Tiger Lilies that Shifu convinced her to plant as a dexterity exercise had now fully bloomed and somewhat resembled the one on her golden hanfu. She couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh and a tender smile. Her temporary contentment was soon gone, however, as trepidation returned to her being. She entered the barracks and walked down the creaky hallway into her room right across from Po's. Tigress sat down contemplating on the edge of her cot. Why do I feel this way? What's going to happen? Her eyelids began to get heavy and her pupils dilated signaling her sleep coming soon. She let her body fall into the cot without a care for anything else. She didn't put on comfortable clothing or put out her lamp. She was too fatigued to think about doing either of them. As fast as she fell asleep, she had woken up. But she didn't wake up in her cot. Where am I, she thought. Her fighting senses took the lead and her prostrate position on the ground became a defense stance. She didn't recognize this specific place, but she felt like it was kind of familiar to her. Mountains painted the horizon and rays of light exposed every corner of the grass blades.
A comforting old voice spoke out to her, "Ah, Tigress. It is good to see you."
"Master Oogway!" Tigress returned and bowed to him. "Master, what is going on? Where am I?"
"No need for worrying, Tigress. You are not in danger here. I brought you here to talk!" Oogway walked a bit towards her and took a seat on the ground. "For me, this is my island in the Spirit Realm. For you, this is a place without any memories."
"Then I'm in the Spirit Realm with you, Master Oogway?"
"Precisely. But the perspective of where you stand is different from mine. Most likely, that place is somewhere in China."
"Could you tell me where, Master?
"Maybe, if you describe it to me. Though I can't promise anything."
"There is a lake here and a small stretch of land next to it. They form a circle together. The horizon is lined with mountains with a mountain top right next to this lake." Tigress went on describing her surroundings and what she saw. Although staying as focused as she could on the conversation, Tigress' feeling distracted her. Perhaps Master Oogway could share with her some wisdom on the matter.
"Hm," Oogway smiled softly, "To me, that sounds like the Pool of Sacred Tears, the place where I discovered Kung Fu."
In realizing now what that meant, Tigress bowed again. "Thank you, Master Oogway, for the pleasure of sending me here."
"Oh! I didn't send you there, the universe did! This is just a place that you haven't been to before but doesn't have any memories or negative connotations. But that is strange, why don't you have any memories of that place?"
"Master Shifu never brought me here as a cub. Though I'm sure that he mentioned it to me before."
"Shifu always wanted you to stay in the Jade Palace. He wanted to form you into a great warrior, but he was worried that you might turn out like Tai Lung. But I knew better. You were, and still are, strong and fierce in your own way. You weren't driven by pride or glory, you were driven by affection or rather the lack of it." Tigress felt a rush of despondency over her. "But I didn't bring you here to discuss such a matter." Master Oogway motioned for Tigress to sit down in front of him. The grass around them fluttered with the gentle breeze. The sun's rays were bringing light to the pattern on the tortoise's shell and radiating off the feline's auburn fur. Tigress' heart began to palpitate despite the calming nature of the summit.
"Master, I have had this feeling that I can't shake from myself. I have been feeling it since the panda village."
"A premonition. Exactly the reason I brought you here. Tigress, something very bad is going to happen. You must prepare yourself for it."
"Whatever it is, Master, I am ready."
"No. You are unfortunately not. Not yet." There was a pause between the two of them. Both were pondering their next words. The former Grandmaster was the first to speak up.
"Tigress, your Chi is unbalanced. You need to find inner peace before you further your Chi training." Master Oogway let out a sigh and stood up leaning against his staff. He stretched out a claw to point at Tigress' heart. "Stability of the soul is the key to any fight. If you are unbalanced, then you are at a disadvantage. I have had a vision of war. This war will test your true strength. I suggest you find stability within yourself."
Tigress was left speechless. She didn't know what to say back to him. She was confused and trepid, and although not showing it on her form, her demeanor spoke millions of more words than what the few she managed to croak ever could. "What kind of war is coming?" Master Oogway looked away pondering what he should say to her. Just as if Tigress didn't ask anything, he avoided the question. "I trust that you will find your inner peace when you need to. Now get some rest. You are weary from traveling."
A swarm of peachtree petals began to surround Tigress' being. She looked up and saw a radiant light floating around her in the vortex. Tigress was returned to her cot in a gust of wind. The lamplight in her room was blown out and peach petals were encircling her body. The bright light from before was still in the tornado of petals with Tigress. She shielded her eyes from the intense brilliance with her paw. She could faintly hear the voice of the former Grandmaster speaking out to her. "You must find peace in order to find stability." The collection of peachtree petals collapsed upon themselves leaving behind only a few. Tigress watched as they snuck out of her open window. She uttered those words to herself as she scrambled around her room to find a blank parchment to record them. You must find peace in order to find stability. She carefully wrote down the phrase going through each stroke with majestic precision. "You...must...find...peace...in order to…find…stability." Tigress' last bit of energy had been drained from her. And as she finished her writing, she passed out on the floor of her room as a result of pure exhaustion.
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"I forgot just how dirty my room is," Po whimpered. He gazed around his muddled quarters. Shelves of bowls next to his bed and various items sprawled about made his room carry a special charm. The pots that his dad used for cooking were usually kept up there with him, and that night was no exception. Now that he looked at it again, that enemy drawing he made as a kid had a striking resemblance to Kai. The shurikens he used to regularly throw were still spread over his wall. A memory shot through his head of when he first got those ninja stars. It was a shipment of imports from Japan being brought on a caravan to the Valley of Peace. He hadn't even known about martial arts yet, let alone Kung Fu. He let his eyes stare at the shurikens, watching the distant memory come to him.
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"Hey, Dad, check these out!" the young Po squealed. He found a set of iron ninja stars at a prop up shop in the town square.
"Po, we can't afford those!" Mr. Ping remarked, "We're only here to find a few spices that we've run out of, and then we're gone." Po took one last look at the throwing stars before putting them back on the tabletop where he found them. He ran back over next to Mr. Ping who was glancing at the sky above him. "You see those storm clouds, Po? It might rain later."
"What does that mean, Dad?"
"It means bad business and less profit," Po's father added with a frustrated tone.
The two of them went around the market square gathering the various spices, Mr. Ping striking up small talk with every merchant. Po was getting bored out of his mind until he saw the shopkeeper that was selling the ninja stars motion him towards the cart. Po hesitantly meandered towards the merchant and under the shade of the stall cover.
"I saw you looking at these ninja stars. They're authentic and made in Japan."
"Japan?!" Po interrupted the merchant.
"Yes, that's right! Japan! No one around here seems to be interested in buying them except you, and I need to get them out of my stall to sell other things. Do you want them for free?" Po nodded excitedly in response. "Well, here you go!" The ox merchant gathered the collection of shurikens together and handed them to Po in a box.
"Thank you, Mr. Ox! Po said to the merchant as he ran back towards his father. Mr. Ping was just finishing up his conversation with Ms. Zhao when Po ran up to him to show the box.
"Dad, look! The ox guy over there gave these to me for free!"
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As the distant memory faded away, Po was brought back to the present. His Kung Fu posters were still draped in the same spots as before. But Po noticed that his Tigress poster that used to be hanging above his bed had now fallen to the floor of his room, displaying a visible ripped scar across her chest. Worry filled Po's heart. "Oh no!" He rushed over to the scene of the crime. "No no no no! Agh~" He looked around for what might have caused this to happen. "Oh, shoot!" Po noticed a mislaid ninja star next to the poster with a little bit of parchment stuck to it. He took it off and saw that, sure enough, the coloring on the small parchment was matching the missing tear across Tigress' chest. "It must've fallen onto the ninja star." Po's facial expression became plainly dispirited. Tears began to well up, but he stopped himself from grieving any further. Maybe I can fix her.
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Dust of Chi scattered along the ground radiated light as the wave finally dissipated. The blades of grass that filled the area had never possessed a greener hue. Shadows of mountains danced happily over the dale as new life had been given. The clumps of Chi that covered the valley seeped into the ground. Absorbed by something like it was being taken. This life had not remained a gift to only botanical beings. No. The gift of new life had been twisted and corrupted. It had become a gift of death returning to this planet. Suddenly, a chorus of rattling bones and shifting dirt filled the silent void. A dark gloomy cloud began to rise through the soil. The miraculous revitalization given to the pass was now stolen into the hands of darkness. The grass blades suddenly turned an unbelievably dark shade of black. No light of any kind reflected off of them. Thousands of skeleton hands reached skyward, their forms rising out of their graves. Covered by a murky cloud of fog, the formation of the army, densely packed with foot soldiers for miles, began their march for revenge. The sun's light that had once imbued hope to the area fled the pass to leave ruination and the wicked together in conversation.