Chapter 19

Master Oogway was practicing Tai Chi, moving slowly and smoothly. He stood beneath the Peach Tree, as petals of the cherry blossoms floated elegantly from the branches that hung above him.

He was quite zen in his current motion.

Shifu would normally be with him to practice an art they both were expertise at, but as you're reading this, he was actually running up the steps towards the hill, jumping almost two at the time, to where his friend stood. There was no time for Tai Chi...

So he's not so zen... but for a good reason.

"Master! Master!"

"Hmmm?" A prolonged, dreamily hum vibrated through the tortoise's lips.

"I have... it's..." Shifu was still out of breath, but turned to look behind him to see if he was followed, "it's very bad news."

"Ah, Shifu. There is just news," Oogway corrected him smoothly as he turned to face the red panda. "There is no good or bad..."

"But Master, your vision... you and Azure, are right! Tai Lung has broken out of prison! He's on his way!"

There was short pause, and Oogway seemed... very surprised. His claw hung in the air, and his mouth was open to oppose what Shifu said, but judging by the lingering silence, he clearly wasn't thinking what he had to say was... well, bad. "That is bad news..." he wasn't expecting the leopard to get out so soon it seemed. However, he just shook his head and returned to his gentle smile, "but only if you do not believe that the Dragon Warrior can stop him, hmm?"

A paw tightened in agitation. "The panda?" The words were almost caught in Shifu's mouth as he moved in closer towards Oogway. "Master, that panda is not the Dragon Warrior." His paws waved about with every syllable, before motioning around his head to emphasize his opinion. "He wasn't even meant to be here... it was an accident!"

"There are no accidents, Shifu..." the turtle said.

Shifu just sighed... almost defeatedly. "Yes, I know. You've said that already..." he turned his head away. "Twice."

"Well, that was no accident either."

...

The red panda held up three fingers. "Thrice." His eyes remained anywhere else but Oogway, ears drooping. But the turtle could see how... exhausted he looked, and Oogway could only imagine the all the torment he had been thrown into over the years... and the hassle the past day or so had been.

"My old friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny... none of you will, until you let go of the illusion of control."

Shifu's ear picked up again at his words, despite the confusion, he was still incredulous. "Illusion?"

"Yes. Look at this tree, Shifu," and he obediently followed his gaze up towards the tree that hovered them, but was at a different perspective. When Oogway looked up at the branches, he saw the sea of petals that still needed to uproot themselves from the tree, when many were starting their migration. "I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, nor make it bear fruit before its time..."

From where he stood, whether that was physically, or if his mind was constantly running with the thought of the current threat that was arising, Shifu didn't see it in much detail; there was this cloud of pink, that was for sure, with a pop of a peach here and there. Turning back to look at the older Master, Shifu stood upright, smiling into a knowing look.

"But there are things we can control!" He threw himself towards the tree, striking it with his foot, and hundreds of peaches rained round them. Master Oogway didn't say anything, and just gazed at him in silence, eyes drooping a little, mouth swindled into a small frown. "I can control when the fruit will fall-" a peach bounced off of his head, to which he grunted, and Oogway chuckled. "And I can control..." Throwing the peach into the air, he jumped up after it, splitting it perfectly with a chop, the seed falling from the cushioning it had within. However, Shifu reached the ground before it did, "where to plant the seed... hi-yah!" A single punch with the power of his little paw was enough to puncture a small hole in the ground before him. He still had time to straighten his back before the seed landed into his open paw. "That is no illusion, Master!" The seed was thrown roughly into the hole, but Oogway didn't comment on it; instead, he just watched sit, before looking at his troubled friend.

"Ah, yes." Shifu turned away, ears flat against his head as Oogway slowly approached him. "But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree." The red panda just paced back and forth in agitation. "You may wish for an apple, or an orange... but you will get a peach."

"B-but a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!"

"But... maybe it can." Oogway bent down to cover the seed with dirt. "If you are willing to guide it, to nurture it. To believe in it." A flower fell from the tree and hit the ground softly. Oogway noticed it in his peripheral vision, but didn't address it...

"But how? How?"

"Well... how did you believe Jian and Azure wouldn't be like Tai Lung, hmm?"

Shifu narrowed his eyes in confusion. "They have nothing to do with-"

"Oh but they do Shifu... more then you think..." Oogway scooped up a fallen flower that settled by his feet before he pulled himself back up again. "Azure having a vision of him just backed up mine... she knew Po and Jian were destined to meet. Maybe she didn't know why that the time, but Jian's destiny has more then one long path; there are many things coming his way... just like Tai Lung has more then one goal; not just the scroll. There's no doubt he will come for them too." Oogway leaned back with a knowing smile. "You knew from the start they were good children... if you didn't, you wouldn't have housed them. They would be elsewhere." Shifu's ears flattened against his head again, not sure what to say. "Po needs Jian to fulfill his destiny, and neither of them know it yet. You just need to believe," leaning in towards his friend, Oogway spoke again, but his voice was a little raspier then normal. "Promise me, Shifu. Promise me you will believe."

Shifu hesitated, "I... I will try."

"Good." The turtle turned to look up at the starry sky, as petals began to rapidly fall from the tree. Shifu turned to look at the tree, unsure as to why the petals decided to fall all at once. "My time has come," he turned back to see Oogway handing him his staff. "You must continue your journey... without me." The staff sat in Shifu's paws, but the red panda was still trying to register what Oogway just said, as he watched him turn around and walk towards the cliff's edge. The petals were just starting to surround him when Shifu's brain finally clicked, and he ran after him.

"Master! You can't leave me." Oogway turned back to Shifu as the petals started rising from the ground, his final words echoing in Shifu's head.

"You must believe..."

"Master!"

Oogway's head rose up to look at the sky just as his body was engulfed by the petals, glowing with a soft light. Before Shifu knew it, the wind settled, the hail of petals floated off into the night, and left him standing by the edge of the cliff alone.

Oogway was gone.


Tai Lung tried to keep his guard up, but nothing could stop the uneasiness he felt rooting in his chest in that very moment.

What?

Azure stood in front of him, her arms now crossed over one another in front of her stomach, as she studied him. The wind blew gently around them, almost too quietly. It was a prompt, definitely; something needed to be said between them, but she didn't know what to say, despite the breeze encouraging a conversation to be made.

It wasn't helping her with any ideas on how to start one.

How could she turn around and say 'hi there Dad. You don't know me, but I'm your nineteen-year-old daughter that was born not long after you went to jail. This is a lot to take in, but you have a nineteen-year-old son too, but you're the guy mom never told us about until we were what, five? Only then did she reveal you were in prison for a heinous crime against your village and people? How the hell of you been?!

"This... is ridiculous." Tai Lung wouldn't have been able to break the ice by just glaring at her. "It has to be a joke."

"How so?" Azure quizzed, tilting her head to the side.

"You said you were a Soothsayer."

"Correct."

He pointed the accusing finger. "This profession is just a trick-"

"How can I pawn a man out of money when he hasn't had any on his person for twenty years?" He narrowed his eyes, but she didn't back down. Instead, she turned her body sideways, and motioned to the fire pit with an open paw. "Would you like some tea? I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on." Only then did she walk away from him, and took her place in front of the fire, after collecting a pot from the tent, and a flask of water. Pouring the contents into the pot before settling it on top of the flames, her back remained facing him, ears flickering, to listen out for any movement.

Tai Lung remained where he stood, still quite skeptical... until she held out a cup, where steam was pouring out, and down the sides sometime later. Why isn't she afraid? He thought.

"Is it because we don't share any physical traits?" She asked. "I look like my mother, surely? I can promise you that you're son looks just like you..." That didn't lure him in, or excite him in anyway, so she drew a long frown across her face, as if to be deep in perception. "What can I do to convince you?"

Humming softly, she reached into the satchel after sitting his unwanted cup of tea on the ground, and retrieved some tools of her profession; a bowl, and a pouch of powder.

"How about... I tell you something that no one else would know?" He didn't flinch. "Let me think... I know that Master Shifu found you as a cub, swaddled in cloth?" He raised a brow, not impressed. So she tossed the powder into the bowl, and a small poof appeared, silhouetting the space in front of her. Various circles and shapes sprawled around her in a hefty fog, but she tutted disapprovingly. "No, no... everyone would know that... oh! How about... you promised my mother her paw in marriage? You may have told her you would marry her, but you never told her that you had meticulously planned on proposing to her in the Valley later that night, when you would take her out to dinner to celebrate your achievement?"

Tai Lung's eyes widened. Sying obviously didn't know that plan; he had envisioned taking her to a restaurant, like Azure stated. She knew that he would marry her, and was ready to gush about who to invite, what her dress could look like... but he would call himself a fool, telling her 'how could I ever marry you...' and then, just as she was about to think that he had changed his mind, he would've taken the ring out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and popped the question then and there, finishing it with 'if I never asked you properly?'

...

"That-"

"Is eerily precise?" Azure smiled at his shock... before retrieving something else out of the satchel. Motioning him to come closer, she held out the contents of her paw once he had drawn himself in; there she held a two photos; one of him with Sying when they first started courting... and one of Sying with Tigress, Azure and Jian as youngsters at one of their outings at the Winter Festival. "Still don't believe me?"

She sat them gently into his paws, and he stared down at them, his tail swishing softly behind him.

He always thought Sying was beautiful, but the photos that pinpointed the exact time he had been away, he could only imagine time not altering her beauty even until now... and the girl was right. She was an exact replica as the her mother, sharing almost every physical trait.

When he looked back at her, Azure was smiling softly as she stood up, her arms opening slightly... and he took the invitation. Sying was always petite in stature, but Azure was just a little shorter, if he could remember correctly, so to hold her for what was actually the first time... ever, was strange. No physical contact with anyone to this extent in over twenty years... who knew the first one would be his daughter?

"You have me convinced," he replied slowly.

"Good," she laughed. "Would've been terribly awkward otherwise..." Silence fell between them as she pulled away. "So you will stay for your appointment?" She asked, motioning toward the firepit.

Tai Lung looked back at the photo; maybe she could sense the rapid beating of his heart that thumped heavily against his ribcage. He was hesitant; the sooner he left, the sooner he would get to the Valley, the sooner he would get his scroll. Did he really want to waste valuable time? Although, the bird should've arrived to the Palace by now, if not soon.

Which meant, Shifu can try and prepare to fight him with whatever little army he had set aside in case of his breakout...

When Azure sat back down, he gave an answer. "Alright." He settled into the Lotus Position beside her, picking up his cup of tea as she poured one for herself.

The night wore on, and soon a conversation managed to flourish between them; he prompted the starters, and she would answer as best as she could. "We were born in the winter-time, not long after you went to jail," she said finally. "But we were never told about you until we were about five or six."

Tai Lung nodded slowly, taking a sip of yet another cup of tea. "Were you told of what happened before?"

"Yes... those details weren't discovered until we were a lot older." Given the theme of said content, it wasn't surprising it was held back from them. "I think for Shifu it was warning for us..." Tai Lung glared at the ground at the mention of Shifu's name. "But I think Mom... was afraid that we would hate you." Tai Lung looked back up at her. "We never met you, and the photos she showed us... painted a very different picture." They showed a person was a strong-minded, tough, kind... someone who loved their mother greatly, and there was no doubt that love was still there...

How am I supposed to tell you that she's fallen in love, and married someone else?

The snow leopard nodded along her words, "and how did Shifu treat you?"

"He..." Azure sighed, her cup barely rolling around her paws. "He didn't know what to do. Our relationship with him was... never the best." Her eyes elevated towards the firepit, which still managed to keep burning through the hours. "Mom was taking care of Tigress out of training, and raised us along with her. By thirteen she left, and we remained at the Palace-"

"She left you?"

"Yes and no-" she corrected herself. "Sying left to work with her sister in Gongmen city, and wanted us to continue our training in the valley. She appointed Master Tigress as our guardian... and then I left not long after, to peruse my current path."

"What about Jian?" Her brother hadn't managed to appear in conversation yet; she only told him his name so far.

"He's waiting for you at the Palace..."

A smile drew across Tai Lung's face that those very words. He put his cup down, and glanced past her gaze, and towards the bowl beside her. "Tell me..."

Azure smirked softly, although her heart ached at the knowledge of what his question was going to be. "I thought you didn't believe in that trickery."

"Maybe I'll believe it when you predict that the scroll is mine."

Azure just lowered her head, not before catching the smile dropping from his muzzle. "You won't like what I have to say..."

His eyes suddenly darkened, and he got up speedily. "Shifu has you brainwashed." He snarled, turning to walk away.

Azure closed her eyes as she got up after him. "Don't you realize Shifu never denied your destiny? It was all Master Oogway."

"Is that what he taught you to say?"

"No." A growl boiled out of her throat, making the older leopard face her. "I was taught to never lie; that would defeat the purpose of my job. As much as it hurts, you were never destined for the Dragon Scroll-" He roared and turned to swipe her, but she (of course) saw this coming, and ducked out of the way.

"Lies."

A punch; she dodged. "Never."

"Admit it." He swung a leg out to trip her, but she jumped high enough to miss it.

"There's nothing to admit." She backed away far enough, crouching into a battle stance, as he closed his fists tightly by his side, a prolonged growl drawing itself out. Azure narrowed her eyes, but didn't move. "You can fight the five, and win. You can battle Shifu and come out victorious, but they have a strong a warrior at hand, who won't give up... someone who will beat you... the real Dragon Warrior." Tai Lung was still glaring at her, but straightened himself up... before laughing, much to her confusion, but she remained stone-faced.

"If you think you're precious-"

"I never said Tigress was the Dragon Warrior."

"Then who?" She nearly smiled at his impatience.

When Azure was certain he wasn't going to pounce, she straightened her posture. "He's a Warrior unlike anything you and I have ever seen," she said. "He fell out of the sky in a ball of fire. A force to be reckoned with..." Inhaling softly, she folded her arms calmly. "If you do manage to beat him however... bring me the Dragon Scroll as proof."

Tai Lung narrowed his eyes, before scoffing. "Fine."

"You will also have Jian with you, unharmed... only then you will come to Gongmen Palace, and find me. Only then, will I bring you to Sying, who doesn't live too far away from the palace."

...

"Very well."

"Good." Tai Lung nodded, and started to leave. "You know," he stopped as soon as she spoke. "It's quite uncanny, that the person Jian has grown up to be... is so like, yet unlike you at the same time."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"He's my brother; I know exactly what buttons to push, and they are quite similar to the ones I seemed to push with you." Her arms laced behind her back as he turned back to glare at her. "Maybe there is a chance you can stop the Dragon Warrior; if by some miracle, you can get Jian to fight him alongside you, you have a chance. But he's someone that isn't discouraged or easily persuaded when he sets his mind to something. You tell him he can't? He will prove that he can."

Tai Lung's eyes narrowed a little, before an evil smirk appeared, baring his teeth. "Like father, like son."

Only then was he swallowed by the shadows, and Azure watched him disappear, before she felt her heart hang in her chest. Looking down to her bowl, and with a gentle blow that past her lips, one last shape wavered out, and materialized into an image before her.

If only you knew that there was more greater things were waiting for you.


chapter 19 is finally here!

I hope you guys enjoy it! This is probably the 4th or 5th attempt at uploading this now, because there's been problems with the uploading process. Hope you guys can read it this time!