Chapter 6
Tigress stood alone on the outskirts of the Great Forest. Leaves swept across her path of vision; the wind whistled around her, almost beckoningly. It blew gently, but the direction it was pushing to was towards the Jade Palace; she glanced behind her to see the Palace in view. Sliced out from the darkened sky, it was standing tall over her, despite the distance.
The wind was telling her to go home.
"Come with us," she heard Sying's voice in her head. "It's not safe." Tigress remembered how she turned down the offer, and told her that Shifu wouldn't approve of her running away. "You're not running away; this isn't you fight."
"Yes it is..."
It was her own fault she was standing there, did she see? If Tigress had gotten the correct fighters; if she hadn't have wasted such valuable time on those four other animals... maybe she was lying to herself; did they really have skills? Their travel here proved they had the stamina, the speed, and the creative thinking when it came to travelling long distance... but was their company so enlightening she was just blinded by it all, and failed to see they lacked in fighting skill?
Her breathing was slow and steady; her vision hardening the longer she stared at the woods in front of her...
Tigress felt her tail twitch, and while she took a moment to glance at it, her gaze shot back towards the Forest; there was heavy footsteps coming from within the canopy.
The trees exploded; Boar was storming through the damage he made, his muscles tense, posture upright. Her gasp was loud and brief; her eyes were wide, and her whole body took a whole step back. "I am Boar!" He bellowed.
As he drew closer, Tigress then proceeded to mimic Master Shifu's fighting stance from yesterday's training. "I hold my ground." Her feet were embedded into the ground. "Steady." Fists were formed and turned upward. "Strong." Chin was straight and upright. "This is the way of Kung Fu."
Boar was grunting at each step he took, his heavy footing disrupting the dirt and gravel beneath him; he had his eyes on the Jade Palace in the distance, before they slowly moved to Tigress, who was a few feet away from him.
"So, you're gonna stop me?" He was a lot closer now, but Tigress didn't run away, but she remained on the spot. Boar laughed in arrogance as her focus hardened on him. "Let's see!" She striked him quickly, but his body was so massive, it caused her to be pushed a few feet back. The dirt collected behind her, the trial her feet made on the ground deep. He laughed, causing her whole body to freeze as he materialized out of the dusty cloud. "Is that all you got? I'm disappointed."
Boar was close enough to start assaulting her with a series of heavy punches; immediately, her self defense training from when she was little kicked in; her arms were curled into the space she made between him and her head; she managed to block the punches, but it wasn't going to last long. He took a moment to pull back a fist, and before she could prepare herself, he sent the fist to her chest. "I was expecting a challenge!" The last word rolled off of his tongue as she was thrown back from the force.
"Jian! Azure! Get back here!" Sying chased after the children as they raced up the Palace steps. They didn't stop; they were racing towards Master Oogway, almost hopping two steps at a time, who only smiled when he caught sight of them.
"Tigress is in trouble!" Jian cried, closing in on the turtle. He pointed to the area where Tigress and Boar were fighting, far from the Palace.
"Good morning, Shifu." Azure and Jian held their breath as Shifu stumbled out of the doors. He glared at the sight of Azure and Jian.
"I thought I told you three to go to safety." He scolded.
"We were," Sying closed in, and grabbed hold of her children's wrists. They tried to get out of her hold, pleading with her to let go, claiming they needed to help Tigress.
"She's in danger!"
Cradling his head, Shifu pressed on. "I'll get her to-"
"No." Oogway's staff stuck out, blocking Shifu from moving forwards. Jian and Azure attempted to make a run for it, but Sying was not letting them go, and watched on helplessly. "Her destiny is not yours to control."
Boar cackled in triumph, snatching an unconscious Tigress by the scruff of her neck. Her robe was dirty and torn at some parts from Boar's aggressiveness. "I am unstoppable!" He declared, throwing her into the air.
"Gotcha!" Crane swooped in and caught her. Soaring over Boar, encasing him in a wall of dust, while he gently half placed her onto the ground; Viper was suddenly beside her, curling her whole body in such a way to hold Tigress by her upper half.
"Don't move, sweetie." Viper planted a soft kiss on her cheek, "muah," before slithering into battle. Monkey screeched as he latched onto Boar's tusk.
"You know what the best part of the joke is?" He didn't wait for Boar to answer; not like he was expecting one. "The punch line!"
With a heavy head, and semi blurred vision; Tigress slowly awoke to see Crane, Monkey, and Viper fight. Viper slithers behind Boar as Mantis crawled into view.
"Need a hand?" Viper used her butt to whip Boar on the butt, and Crane scooped her up as Boar smashed the ground where she was seconds later. Crane used his wings to throw a gust of strong gale, before the two reformed with Monkey and Mantis on the ground in front of Tigress.
"What are you doing? You are nothing! I just defeated Shifu!" The Boar dared to brag.
"No." Everyone slowly turned their gaze towards her as she pulled her upper half up. "I'm not… Shifu." Her pupils constricted almost dangerously as her claws sharpened. In a split second, she launches herself into the air, a roar filling their ears as her robe was swiftly torn apart, and a red short sleeved vest was revealed. "I am Tigress."
Boar was a little puzzled, while Mantis softly ushered, "whoa..." as he, Crane, Monkey and Viper looked up at her in awe.
Shifu also watched in awe, gasping as Azure and Jian grinned excitedly. Oogway smiled knowingly, and Sying stared in shock; so much so her paws softened, and the children were free to jump and cheer.
"Go Tigress!" They cried, although she couldn't hear them.
A punch came in contact with Boar's cheek. "Hiyah!" Lucky shot, Boar thought, despite being surprised how hard the punch was; but she didn't stop. In fact, she continued to fight him with ease; every time he tried to one up her, she retaliated with a better shot.
Po appeared into the clearing somewhere in the distance to collect the mushrooms his dad was looking for. Intending to find mushrooms as he looked to the side, he caught sight of the feline singlehandly defeating Boar.
"Woah..."
With every punch, kick, and strike she dished out, Po couldn't take his eyes off of the whole scene... almost feeling the pain Boar was feeling everytime Tigress hit him.
Mantis suddenly held up Boar's nose. "Buddy, hold your breath. It's gonna hurt." Tigress pushed him back so far, it gave her an idea, and looked at the others as Boar tried to hold himself up. "All right, all together." She started running, and they caught up with her, and all five of them leapt forwards, obeying each instruction she gave them.
"Twist your hips."
Check.
"Recoil."
Check...
"And extend!"
The five kick Boar together, which sent him flying.
"I've… been… stopped." His tusks broke apart as he crashed into the ground, defeated.
...
"I guess we're done here." Tigress turned on her heel and started walking away from Boar.
Glancing at the defeated beast briefly, Monkey had an idea. "Hey! We could be a team."
Tigress smiled at him, laughing a little. "Yes!"
"Great!" Crane praised, as they all walked along side the feline. Mantis hopped on top of Monkey's shoulder.
"What should we call ourselves?"
Sying was weak with relief to see Tigress and her comrades were okay, and while Jian and Azure raced down the steps, Oogway turned to the red panda, who was in complete amazement still.
"Here, Shifu." With two taps on his chest, Shifu's illness was gone...
By the time the sun was up in the sky, Tigress and the others were climbing up the steps towards the training hall. "What about the Forensic Five?"
"No."
"The Funky Five?"
"Nah..."
"The Fireproof Five?"
"Bigger. Think bigger!"
Crane spread his wings. "The Fleshy Five!"
Viper pulled a face at that one, before they all laughed at Crane's embarrassment, but he forced himself to chuckle along with it. The gates to the training yard opened, and Tigress smiled brightly to see Jian and Azure running towards her. Crane, Viper, Monkey and Mantis stopped with Tigress and she bent down far enough to catch the children in her arms, listening to them cheer in rejoice. Their force was a lot stronger then she had anticipated; she had to catch herself from falling, laughing as she held the cubs close.
"We knew you could do it!" Azure praised, her arms wrapped around Tigress' neck as Jian jumped out of her hold as quick as he fell into it.
"You were amazing out there! Jian cried as Tigress straightened herself up, with Azure still in her arms."You all were!" The other beamed at him gratefully. "All hi-ya, cha, whaw!" He mimicked each of their moved the best he could, earning a grin and several laughs. He was almost breathless, but he couldn't contain his excitement. "You proved Shifu wrong-"
"Ahem." The boy froze instantly, grimacing slightly as he rotated his head, to find Shifu, Oogway and Sying behind him.
"Ehe..." he mustered out with an awkward smile.
However, Shifu, who was feeling (and looking) a whole lot better, seemed to have ignored him (apart from sending him a warning look), and looked at Tigress. "Sloppy. Very sloppy." He said, mono toned. Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Tigress and Viper immediately lost their happy looks. Azure frowned as Tigress planted her back on the ground. "Your technique is unorthodox and undisciplined. Training begins right away." He gestured her to follow him as he walked ahead. Tigress' eye instantly rolled towards the sky, and followed him.
"She did nothing wrong..." Azure whispered helplessly, while the Four just shrugged. Sying glared at Shifu as they walked past, but Oogway shot her another one of his smiles, and motioned Crane, Monkey, Viper and Mantis to follow her. They exchanged confused looks, and with the children beside them, they all walked through the gates.
Shifu pushed open the doors to a building that stood over the training yard; she was in it several times before, but never did she use the machinery; Shifu said she wasn't advanced enough to use it yet.
Observing the area around her in obvious awe, she heard Shifu continue to speak. "It's time to develop this… Tiger Style of yours." Glancing down at her paws, she then heard something that she never heard come out of his mouth. "I am very proud of you." Her gaze switched back to him, and as he smiled up at her... with pride. There was a flutter of accomplishment in her chest as they turned to see the others standing behind them.
"As for the rest of you..." Shifu's paws collected each other under his sleeves. "You're welcome to stay. You fought well. With courage and honor. We must explore those… skills of yours." He glared at Mantis, who sat on Jian's shoulder. "You are tiny. Very small. But I already know how much pain you can inflict..." The red panda kept his distance.
"You're welcome." Mantis tried to hide a smile.
Shifu gave a shallow 'hmph' before looking at Monkey. "Oh, four fists, huh? I think you should be able to handle this." He handed the primate a staff, who studied it excitedly as Shifu took hold of Crane's wings. "Hm, whatever their nature, your limbs will become your weapons. Your shields. Your best allies." His eyes bounced to Viper. "No legs...."
"Yeah. Oops." Viper replied with a playful hiss.
Shifu chuckled. "We'll work something out." Viper laughed in response. "Very well..." Shifu looked back at the five older students, who formed in line, looking at one another with determination. Oogway invited Sying and the children to walk along with him out of the gates, to give Shifu time with the students. "Alright, then, we have five new Kung Fu styles to perfect..."
Later that night...
Shifu and Oogway were in the Hall of Heroes, lighting candles when Sying came in. Shifu stopped what he was doing to turn his head around briefly, to judge her distance, while Oogway continued to light candles. Once the door was closed, she remained on the spot. "Are the students settled?" Shifu asked, stubbing out the flamestick in his hold.
"They're with Tigress at the bunkhouse... I've been meaning to talk to you both about something." Both men turned to face her. "The children have been asking... questions." Shifu felt his muscles stiffen.
"About?" Oogway prompted, although the silence that filled spaces between their words answered the question very quickly.
"What have you said about him?" His eyes eventually blinked to indicate he was mobile.
"I've only said he lives somewhere far away." Not the most complex lie, Shifu thought deeply. "What way should I approach it?"
Oogway let out a soft 'hmm', as his finger tips played piano against his lips. "Bring them here before supper... we'll help you."
Sying was quick to bow. "Thank you..." she then excused herself and left.
Oogway hummed softly and turned back around, while Shifu was rooted on the spot.
"She is capable of telling them on her own." he argued, once he heard the door close. Oogway seemingly ignored him, and went back to lighting candles. "We don't need to help her."
"Yes..." The rod was stubbed out into a bowl once the last candle was lit, "but this may explain as to why you treat them... differently."
"I don't-" the words were stuck in his throat when Oogway's eyes rolled towards him.
Azure was out in the fields beyond the Valley. The grass was at the highest she had ever seen it, the only part of it disturbed was where she stood; the rest brushed around her, tickling her arms lightly. Every time the stalks came in contact, her eyes wandered from one arm to the next, not really giving off any reaction to the touch.
Instead, in order to distract herself, she walked back towards the Valley; upon entry there wasn't the familiar sounds, or the usual hustle and bustle throughout the streets during the early hours of the morning. Every alleyway she past, she checked for anyone, every house was vacant and nearly crumbling to the ground. Azure swept her focus across to check the restaurant she went to pick up the food that day; not a single soul...
Her feet raced up the palace steps. "Mama? Jian?!" She called, pushing open the doors to the Hall of Heroes; the place lay in ruins, but desolate. Stalking the pathway towards the Moon Pool, every pillar was checked for any signs of life, as the sun began to set a lot quicker then before. The pool didn't bare a drop of water; instead, a red cylinder with green lids lay at the bottom. Azure hopped into the pool, landing softly on all fours, scooped it up, and climbed back out, the container still in her firm grip during the final pivot. Once she was on her feet, she looked up and noticed the room was casting a dark, nauseating green in the pitch black. The door was gone, in pieces around her... and someone tall and muscled, was standing among the rubble.
"Who are you?" Azure heard her voice speak, her mouth moved, but her body was heavy with the fear consuming her bones. As the figure moved towards her, the ground shook, and her vision was going a little blurry, and her legs began to give way...
Hitting the ground, she silently cried as the stranger moved in towards her, his form then materialized; his eyes resembled the shine you got melting gold, and a dark smile sketched across his face, as his grey paws reach forward, and cupped her cheeks gently. I don't want to see those pretty eyes spill anymore tears..." He brushed them away, and each time the tears hit the ground, the ground sizzled. "You will fear me for now... because you don't know of me." He tried to take the scroll out of her paws, but it was like it was glued to her palms. The same with her knees, stuck to the ground... and he was growing more aggressive...
Gasp!
Azure nearly screamed when her body shook itself out of the nightmare she was certain to be stuck in. Unlike most who grew fearful after their unconscious states and sat upright almost immediately, Azure remained on her back, trying to get the strength to sit up. It took a few moments, but she eventually crawled out of the cot, and was slow to stand on her two feet.
It was just after sunset; Supper would be ready soon...
Azure hugged herself for comfort; she had grown lightheaded after all the excitement, and Tigress took her to her dorm, Azure retraced her steps once she glanced around the room; it was immaculate as usual; the bed under the window,a lantern hung over her head, the dresser was parked just beside the door, a few photos loitering the space on top. Padding over to it as she rubbed her eyes, Azure grinned softly to see herself and Jian in some of the photos; one of them as babies, and Tigress and Sying were holding one child each, and one during the winter months; Tigress was watching them play in the snow...
The spoken feline had told her to rest, noticing how fatigue she was earlier. Last time she checked she was sitting at the other end of the bed when she was dozing off... but where was she now?
The door slide open abruptly and made Azure flinch. "Mama needs us." It was Jian, poking his head through the door. He grinned at her cheekily, failing to notice the twitches that moved across all ten digits of her paws.
"Masters?" Sying came back about ten minutes later, with Jian and Azure joined at her hip. The candles were all ignited upon their arrival, and Master Oogway awaited for them at the reflection pool. The turtle beckoned the children to come forth, and they ran ahead of their mother, and slid on their knees as they neared him.
"How are the new students settling in?" He asked of them as he descended down the steps. It was a distraction for the time being; Shifu had an idea, but had to retreat to his room to go fetch it, and Oogway wasn't sure how long he would be; not that it would take him forever... but had been gone for longer then five minutes, so he took his time to settle the children down; Jian chatted away without a care in the world, while Azure seemed more reserved. When the opportunity rose, she spoke, but her excitement was almost strung along at intervals; she was more unnerved and ill at ease.
Sying had set up their assigned dorms as Azure was asleep, and she didn't even notice...
Shifu finally returned with a box; it was Jade Green with a Golden Dragon printed on the lid; the children had never seen it before, and neither had Sying; she had cleaned Shifu's room many times, and although his room was always immaculate, and the most mess he had ever made was leave a scroll he was reading here and there along his dresser... but never had she seen such a box lying around in the open...
As he neared the top of the steps, the children stood to attention; with a hesitant sigh, Shifu sat the box in front of them, and gestured at him, open palmed, to open it. Jian took charge; placing both paws on either side of the container, and pushing the lid up with his thumbs. Oogway stood away far enough to not see the contents of the box, and while Azure propped her head on Jian's shoulder to see inside, Sying held herself up by the elbows, her heart hitting against her ribcage.
Neither child spoke for a long time, until, with trembling paws, Azure reached over her brother's shoulder, and plucked out a photo; the man in the photo was a snow leopard, standing tall, chest puffed out with his arms behind his back as if to address someone of importance. Azure's fingers traced along his face slowly, as if to recognize him, while Jian stared down at it with a confused look. It wasn't the only thing in the box; but it was staring straight up at them. There was fabrics and other photos, so Jian took it upon himself to rummage through the rest.
"He looks like me." He said innocently, before looking up at Master Shifu, who had his mouth shut uncomfortably, before he noticed another photo; this stranger was with their mom in the next one; they were dressed formally, gazing lovingly at one another, smiling as she was in his embrace; they weren't sure whether her attire was a tunic or a dress, but it was dark blue with a white outline and long sleeves. "Mama..." he twisted his head towards her as Azure straightened up, and passed her the photo she was holding. "Who is that with you?" Jian passed her the one he was holding. His smile was confident, strong, bright... something Sying hadn't seen in years, and she cradled both photos against her chest, softly inhaling.
"This is your father." Her mouth finally spoke, focusing her gaze on them firmly. Both of them stared back at her, jaws opening to speak, but noises of confusion came out in studders instead. Never had they asked if they had a father, as far as the aging red panda knew. Sying had always been there to cater their every need, playing the mom and dad role. "His name is Tai Lung." Great Dragon...
Azure looked up at the golden dragon above the pool; there was the red cylinder. Taking the photos back from their mother, Azure stared them down once more.
"Where is he now?" She questioned aloud; but in her head she put the pieces of a slightly separate puzzle together; he was the man in her dream!
"Remember that place I used to say where all the naughty children go?" Sying prompted.
"Chor Gom..." Jian answered slowly, before he blinked dumbfoundedly. "Wait..." he looked at the photo again, before looking back at her. "Why is he there?"
"He's been there a long time... before you two were born." Jian's gaze met the ground, trying to make sense of it all. Shifu's ears flattened across his head, while Oogway leaned his head against his staff, which was held by both hands, "and he will remain there..."
"What did he do..." Sying knelt down and placed a paw on her son's shoulder. Azure put the photos she was holding back into the box, inhaling deeply as Shifu avoided eye contact with her for a brief moment, and revealed a third photo from his sleeve. There they both saw their father; he was lonesome in this picture, fist to palm, smiling almost knowingly. That was when Shifu and Oogway explained everything that had went on before the children were born; how he was preparing to become the Dragon Warrior for his whole life, how Oogway denied his destiny, and how he seeked revenge. Both of them listened intentively, and after what seemed like eternity, but Oogway had his hand on the little girl's shoulders.
"We wanted to wait until you were both old enough to understand what he had done wrong." He said softly. "We will try our best to answer any questions you have..."
Azure kept her eyes to the floor as Jian pulled himself forward, trying to get the words in order, but she spoke before him. "How are we to be like him... if he's not here to teach us?"
This question surprised Shifu, to put it simply. "It's the fear... within the people." Shifu covered his anxiety as smoothly as he could, as he edged away to pick up the box. Before she could point his actions out, he sealed the box close with a clasp, he passed it to her. "He was eager to become a hero... but he wasn't destined to have the Dragon Scroll."
Oogway pointed towards the scroll, and Jian followed the direction he was pointing. "One day, the true Dragon Warrior will be come forth... when the time is right."
"Who would that be?" Jian thought aloud, before he perked up excitedly, like everything that had been told didn't happen. "It has to be Tigress, right?"
Oogway chuckled. "Maybe... but we won't know until the Dragon Warrior is needed."
"Right now, you better get your supper, and some rest..." he finally set his gaze on Jian and Azure, his expression neutral. The children held their breath, ready to slink away at any given time. "I want to see a duo to focus on defending their Valley, to perfect their skill like their leaders."
Azure blinked dumbfoundedly, the box cradled against her chest as Jian gasped with disbelief... but a smile was crawling along his muzzle as he looked up at their mother, who nodded with an encouraging smile. "Tomorrow is your first day..." They both nodded excitedly.
"We won't let you down." They said in unified sincerity.
"We won't be like him." Jian said assuringly. Shifu said nothing, but Sying could see it in his eyes;
I want to believe that.
Later that night, Jian and Azure went to the barracks with their mother. Sying had to make Tigress and the new students their dinner, and once that was done, they would go home. Shifu agreed to let them stay in the dorms when they were a little older. For now, they were just excited to start training in the morning.
Tigress was with the others in the kitchen listening to Monkey's terrible jokes, as Sying was making a start on the dinner. They greeted them happily when they came in. They ran to Tigress as she turned to face them. "We can finally introduce ourselves properly." Monkey said, raising a fist to Jian, who fist pumped him with a grin.
"Yeah, its so exciting!"
Azure nodded along her brother's words, before turning to Tigress when she spoke; "how are you feeling now?"
"Better..." she hesitated before asking to speak to her in privately, and she obliged. Excusing herself, she took them to her room; letting them in first, she soon followed them. "We need to ask you something." Azure spoke again once Tigress sat on her bed.
"Sure." A smile sketched across her face briefly, before it fell to a flat line once Azure opened to the box, and showed her the photos; there Azure saw her entire body stiffen up. Pressing them closer, Tigress took hold of them, and stared down at the pictures in silence; she hadn't been this quiet all day.
"Was he as bad as Shifu says?" Jian piped up, tilting his head to the side.
"What has you mom told you?"
"She told us about what he did that got him into jail... but she didn't say if he was ever good."
Tigress' paw made its way to the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. "Not always... he was a good soul. He could of done amazing things. he loved your mom..."
Tigress cried out 'Master Shifu!' as Tai Lung's swipe cracked Shifu's hip, then a punch sent the red panda flying back towards them, until he hit the ground, and rolled towards Oogway's feet... she remembered running for him before Sying could stop her, and Tai Lung kept racing, and soon leapt towards the scroll, but Oogway soon jumped too. His claws traced over his torso in a swift manner she couldn't see, but he hit the ground with a heavy thud...
For the first time ever, they saw a tear run down her cheek. Jian's eyes widened a little. "What's wrong..."
"Nothing..." she swiped it away quickly, clearing her throat. "He wanted the scroll... but did terrible things when he was told it wasn't his..."
"We won't ever be like him." Azure assured her, but she was close to crying too. "We don't want to disappoint him. We want him to be proud of us... like he is with you. We want to prove we can be amazing warriors."
They nestled into Tigress as she cradled them in her arms. "You will make him proud. You can prove him wrong..."
Finally got around to updating! Sorry for the wait guys!
