Chapter 24
Later that day, Shifu, Jian and Po returned from the mountains. By the time they entered the palace courtyard, the sun was starting to set, and everything was starting to bathe in a dark, orange hue. But Po has an easy spring in his step. "You have done well, Panda," Shifu said. Jian blinked in surprise at how... truthful Shifu's comment had sounded to him. Before he could say anything, Po jumped ahead of him.
"Done well? Done well?! I've done awesome!" Through his excitement, his belly swung about, and almost knocked Shifu off balance. The red panda was surprised, of course, but he quickly regained his dignity and kept walking. Jian decided to hang back a little, smiling to himself; he didn't want to ruin this moment with a sarcastic comment.
"The mark of a true hero is humility. But yes...you have done..." Shifu punched Po in the side hard enough to make him stagger, "...awesome."
They both chuckled. "Well, I couldn't have done it without Jian's help..." they both turned to look at the leopard, who pretend to look around cluelessly, before pointing at himself in mock surprise.
"Me? Oh no!" He said, before joining in on the chuckling.
"No, I mean it Jian," he reached out and shook his paw firmly. "Thank you..."
Jian grinned at him... before he felt his ears flickering as their said chuckling began to falter. "What's that sound...?" He turned around to peer down the path. "Master, there's someone coming up the steps?" Before Shifu could comment, he and Po heard an approaching flapping sound, before an indistinct figure appeared in the clouds... was that Crane?
"Huh?" Po narrowed his eyes.
Jian was still watching down the path before his eyes widened. "It's Azure!" He sprinted down the steps to reach her. She was stumbling up the steps, and crashed to her knees before he could catch her. "What are you doing here?" He was greeted by heavy panting, as she carried something in her arms, curled up and stiff. "Is that... Master Viper?"
"Yes!" She gasped. "And... Mantis too!"
"What happened to them-"
Jian heard something hit the ground behind him before Po cried out. "Guys? GUYS!" He didn't even have to motion Azure to follow him, but when he made it back to the courtyard, he felt his heart almost leaping out of his throat. Shifu stared on, speechless.
Tigress and Monkey lay paralysed at his feet, as Po threw his backpack aside, running over to them. Crane was mobile of course, but his wings were crumpled, his feathers ruffled and looked just as exhausted as Azure. Po collected his jaw into the palms of his paws as Azure ran past him, collapsing on her knees as she set Viper and Mantis on the ground beside Monkey. "They're dead?! No, they're breathing! They're asleep?! No, their eyes are open..." Po continued to ramble as Azure placed her paws on the ground, trying to catch her breath.
"We were no match... for his nerve attack," Crane said breathlessly, as Shifu walked towards Mantis, examining him briefly. His?!
"He has gotten stronger..." He then proceeded to press certain points on Mantis' chest, which unfroze him almost immediately.
"Who? Tai Lung? Stronger?!" Po whimpered in panic. He was seemingly ignored, as Azure cradled her forehead, suddenly very lightheaded.
Jian listened in on the conversation, eyes wide at the mention of his father's name. "I tried to lift the blocks off of them... but I couldn't get it right," Azure spoke as Shifu started freeing Monkey. Po slowly leaned over them to observe what he was doing. Azure, without looking at him, spoke with shut eyes. "Po, I wouldn't do that-"
BAM!
Monkey was realised from his paralysis, punching Po in the head as he did so. Azure winced as Po staggered back. "He's too fast! Wait-" He slowly realised where he was, what had happened, and rolled over on his side, looking up at the dazed panda. "Sorry, Po..."
Jian knelt down by Tigress, his robe fanning out on the ground like a little fan. Putting a paw on her frozen shoulder, Shifu worked on freeing her. She was revived swiftly and proved so with a gasp... but no words came out. "Tigress?" He helped her sit upright, holding himself asking her if she was okay. His paw remained on her back as she placed a paw against her throat as she went to speak... but nothing came out again. Shifu's brows crinkled together, attempting to lip-read, but he couldn't understand what she was trying to say. "Can you breathe?" She nodded, but only did it once before Jian turned to Azure, demanding an explanation.
"He silenced her," Azure said through gritted teeth. Jian's eyes turned back to Tigress, before turning to Shifu.
"Do something?!" He almost sounded rude, if it didn't sound so much like begging and pleading.
Before Shifu responded (or corrected him), Azure got on her feet and moved in closer. "Try this..." Raising a paw, she waited for Shifu to copy her, and proceeded to rotate her paw and twist her fingers in a specific pattern that no one else seemed to understand... bar Shifu. He mirrored her actions exactly, against Tigress' larynx, and as soon as he pulled his fingers away, she gasped again... before speaking hoarsely.
"I thought we could stop him..." Jian never heard her sound so ashamed.
"He could have killed you." Shifu wasn't angry this time; he sounded concerned. Jian almost felt relieved, despite everything.
"But why didn't he?" Mantis crawled over towards Shifu as he began to work on Viper. "We were right there in front of him. We were in a vulnerable and helpless position."
"It would defeat his purpose," Azure explained. "So you could come back and warn Shifu. To frighten us all."
"But it won't work." Shifu interrupted as Viper's rigid body collapsed into a soft sigh, and she was free to move again- slowly at first.
"Uh, it might... I mean, a little. I'm pretty scared." Po tried to laugh it off, but no one was laughing with him. Azure placed a paw on his shoulder to comfort him, just as Jian was doing to Tigress; he felt her shoulder moving in time with her breathing, which seemed forced at first.
"What happened out there?" He asked no one- yet everyone, as he helped Tigress stand up.
"We were at the Thread of Hope," Crane panted. "We had the upper hand... and cut the final section of the bridge... but he got us in the end."
Mantis turned to Azure. "But you knew that all along, didn't you?"
Azure felt every pair of eyes on her; some were blank expressions she couldn't read, and others were concerned. Shifu asked her what happened, as Po stepped away from her, letting her paw slip from his shoulder, and sway loosely by her side. Jian stood up slowly, shaking his head in disbelief as if to try to shake off the sudden realisation that dawned on him. "You were there..." He said slowly, as he pointed at her, ears flat against his head. "You saw this happen, and you just sat back and allowed it to unfold."
"Jian-" Tigress tried to speak, but Jian was too angry, and couldn't hear her- that or he chose to ignore her. He started walking towards Azure, finger still protruding, and Po watched as she began to move backwards, raising her arms defensively.
"I was only doing my job-"
"SCREW YOUR JOB!" He got close enough to grasp her by the shoulders, roaring right in her face. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses. You're leading him right to us." He proceeded to shake her.
"Jian, you're going to hurt her-" Po put a paw on his shoulder, but Jian only shoved it away with the shake of the mentioned body part. But some part of him listened to Po because he stopped shaking her, allowing her to focus better.
"Because of you, the Furious Five are down, they could've been Po's back up." Jian's voice was starting to get angrier, but it was also at this point that it was starting to sound more hysterical, and it started to scare her. "You're scheming with him, aren't you? What is there to gain?!" What was the point in speaking to him if he was filling the gaps himself?
"That's enough!"
Jian froze, letting go of Azure. They both glanced behind them; Tigress stood inches away from them, cradling her side. Her fur was dishevelled, but that didn't distort her own anger. "Get away from her. Now." Not wanting to upset her more, Jian did what he was told, and stepped away, arms raised, eyes round. Tigress winced as she stepped forward, and joined Azure's side, turning to face everyone else. "Azure was never helping Tai Lung. She helped us during the fight," glaring at Jian, she put a paw on Azure's shoulder. Whether she was doing it out of comfort, or to support herself, no one knew. "She followed Tai Lung to the bridge, and he let her past before anyone even started fighting-"
"Because he didn't want her to get hurt," Shifu said. Everyone turned to him as Tigress confirmed his theory with a nod.
"And she wasn't taking his side," Crane stated. "As Mantis said- yes, she knew this was going to happen. That's her job." Jian felt his anger slowly melting away, and turned to look at Azure, who was only glaring at him. "She came to warn us, but couldn't get there in time." He looked at the young snow leopard for clarity.
"Yes, I tried to get there before him to warn you all... I wanted to avoid anyone getting hurt..." Azure turned to look at Tigress. "I'm sorry. I only made things worse..." Tigress flashed her a warning look, but she ignored it and turned to Shifu. "He was going to hurt them. And he did. He..." her paws rolled into fists, glaring at the floor. "He was going to kill Tigress."
Shifu's eyes widened. The rest of the Furious Five gasped- it was important to remember that although they were there, they had no recollection of this part of the event happening, thanks to their short-term paralysation and loss of consciousness. Po gasped with them, and Jian looked at the striped feline, hoping she could deny it... but Tigress looked away. I'll kill him, he thought, but Azure kept speaking.
"At least that's what he was making it out to be. To get me to join him... so I threatened him. I told him that if he hurt them anymore, I would make sure he would never see my mother again. It's not just the scroll he's after; he wants his family back."
"What does he know?" Shifu asked.
"He knows that Jian is here, in the Valley of Peace." She eyed Jian this time. "He knows that my mother and I aren't."
"Does he know where she is?" Jian questioned.
"No, I told him if he defeated the Dragon Warrior, and brought the scroll... and you as proof, only then could he find me in the city, and I could bring him to her." Jian nodded slowly, but he wasn't pleased to know that he was part of Tai Lung's quest.
"That's not going to happen," Shifu turned to Po, who was looking quite frightened. "You can defeat him, panda!" Shifu walked toward him.
Jian nodded. "Shifu's right- remember the training you've done the last few days? You've excelled at it; Tai Lung won't know what hit him."
"Are you kidding? Jian, I don't know what he is capable of. If they couldn't beat him..." Jian looked around, to see the Furious Five exhausted and beaten, who all glanced at one another, their worry was hidden well. "I mean, come on! They are five Masters... I'm just one me. If they couldn't what chance do I have?"
"But that's the thing Panda- you will have the one thing that no one else does."
Inside the Hall of Warriors, the Dragon Scroll rests snugly in the mouth of the golden dragon on the ceiling. This golden dragon had resonated in the Hall of Heroes for as long as Jian could remember. He still remembered the night that Shifu presented the box to him and his sister, the night they were informed of their father's heinous crimes- he thought about it so much, he could've made a play about it.
He can still feel the tremor of anxiety that swam through his whole body as Azure plucked the photo of Tai Lung out of the box. How her fingers caressed his face- she was so calm about it. Did she know who he was before Sying even told them?
"He looks like me." He said.
Oh, how brave was he to say that- it was the first and only time he admitted to himself- or to anyone that he was every inch of his father. Shifu must have been ill at the thought.
"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... probably someone that Sying hadn't thought about for years. He could still remember seeing her cradle the photos against her chest. Was she holding back tears? Had she stopped loving him then... or was it when she met Li?
"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. "His name is Tai Lung." Great Dragon...
Azure was standing right beside him now, looking up at the golden dragon above the pool, just like she did that night all those years ago. She could almost feel the eyes of that dragon staring right into her soul. She hadn't spoken to him since the courtyard.
"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..."
She wasn't making it a grudging choice not to speak to Jian- what happened in the courtyard was merely water under the bridge. There were other, more important things to address right now. They stood by the furious five, as Po stood in front of them, a few feet ahead. Shifu was in front of him, which granted Po to stare at him... before looking up at the scroll... and then back at Shifu.
"You really... believe I'm ready?" He asked softly.
"You are... Po." He nodded into his sentence; it was strange to hear Shifu address him by his name, and not by something as cold sounding and derogatory as 'Panda'.
Shifu walked over to a rack that was surrounded by candles. There hung Master Oogway's staff, with a portrait of the turtle himself hanging above the stand. It was a beautiful painting of him performing Tai Chi beneath the peach tree. As Po, Jian, Azure and The Five stand by, Shifu carried the staff over to the reflecting pool. He bowed his head as a sign of respect, and then, eyes closed, he raises the staff up above his head. Azure held a closed paw over her heart- she knew Oogway's time was coming to an end long before she first arrived in the Valley... and he did too. Although they couldn't exactly pinpoint when he would go, they both speculated it was going to occur before her next visit to the Valley.
It pained her not to be there with the others when he died... or say anything to them about it, but she had said what she needed to say to Oogway before she left to meet Tai Lung. Thanking him for looking out for him and her brother over the years, for making sure Shifu housed them when Sying confided in them about her pregnancy. That... and they both mutually agreed that nothing was to be said to the others. "We will meet again, my dear." She remembered him saying. "Soon."
"Does that mean I'll die soon?" She asked him- despite all her training, she couldn't predict her own death yet.
"No my dear." He replied with a chuckle. "You have plenty more to do. I can promise you that."
She was- apparently, guaranteed another while in this dynasty. But even she couldn't understand what he meant by that- Oogway was definitely a mysterious one.
Focus, she told herself. I don't need to think about anything else right now. This moment was a huge one- something she had been foreseeing for a while. She, Jian, Po and the others would watch on expectantly as Shifu whirled the staff. Peach blossom petals would rise in a flickering, spinning cloud up from the pool. They would form a gentle tornado, rising up around the carving of the dragon...
And that's exactly what happened.
The petals loosened the scroll from the dragon's mouth and it falls. But at the last second, Shifu used the staff as an extending arm of sorts, to reach out and catch the scroll on the end of it before it could disrupt the moon pool's surface. Before reeling it back, the staff touched the surface of the water to cause a single ripple within it, as the petals vanished.
And everything was still again.
Shifu turned to Po, holding it out as he spoke. "Behold. The Dragon Scroll... It is yours."
The black and white panda reached for the cylinder... but pulled his paw back hesitantly. "Wait... what happens when I read it?"
Shifu shook his head, but he knew that alone wasn't going to answer his question. "No one knows," he added. "But legend says you will be able to hear a butterfly's wing beat."
"Whoa! Really? That's cool..."
"Yes. And see light in the deepest cave. You will feel the universe in motion around you."
Jian watched on, waiting anxiously for Po to open the scroll... but he was getting over-excited. "Wow! Can I punch through walls? Can I do a quadruple backflip? Will I have invisibility-"
Shifu had to bring him back to earth, telling him to focus on the task at hand. "Read it, Po, and fulfil your destiny. Read it and become... the Dragon Warrior."
Jian felt himself internally gasp. This was it, he thought as Po got hold of the scroll. He tried to pull open the top but it didn't budge. Straining a little, he heard Po say something along the lines of 'its impossible to open...' which prompted him to look at the other's reactions- all were watching, looking a little on edge... before looking a little perplexed. Jian looked back to see Shifu opening the lid off the scroll, almost effortlessly. 'I probably loosened it up for ya...' Po tried to save some grace, but they all saw through it.
He soon unravelled the parchment, and as a golden light bathed his face, his eyes widened.
Jian and Azure leaned in at the same time, as did Shifu- all excited to witness this historical moment. The Furious Five continued to watch on, no one uttering a syllable to each other.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
It was as if the golden light got brighter and brighter, almost sucking Po into the pages. His outcry startled them all, all anticipating to see what it foretold.
Hurry up Po, Jian thought impatiently. We need to know how you're going to stop-
"It's blank!"
